FTS vs NI: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated September 2026
Short answer
FTS is the larger of the two ($28.12B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (19.88x forward earnings, beta 0.43). NI is the smaller challenger ($19.64B), priced similarly on forward earnings (18.18x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
FTS vs NI: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of September 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | FTS | NI | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $28.12B | $19.64B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 19.88 | 18.18 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 22.56 | 21.79 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.43 | 0.55 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 59% of range | 23% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 1.65 | 2.05 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how FTS and NI affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. FTS and NI share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined FTS and NI exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Fortis (FTS) do?
Fortis Inc. is a St. John's, Newfoundland-based utility holding company that owns 10 regulated electric and gas businesses serving roughly 3.5 million customers across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Its largest platforms include ITC Holdings (U.S. electricity transmission, ~80% owned), UNS Energy (Tucson Electric Power and other Arizona utilities), Central Hudson in New York, and FortisBC in British Columbia. About 99% of assets are regulated, which means earnings come largely from rate-base returns approved by regulators rather than from commodity prices or competition, giving the business unusually predictable cash flows.
What does NiSource (NI) do?
NiSource operates two reportable segments. Columbia Operations is the natural gas distribution business, made up of the Columbia Gas utilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland. NIPSCO Operations covers northern Indiana, where the company runs both a gas utility and a vertically integrated electric utility that has been retiring coal generation and replacing it with wind, solar, batteries and, most recently, new combined cycle gas capacity. Roughly 7,700 employees serve about 3.3 million natural gas customers and about 500,000 electric customers. Revenue was approximately $6.9 billion on a trailing twelve month basis through the June 2026 quarter, and essentially all of it comes from rates set by state commissions rather than from competitive markets.
FTS vs NI: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- FTS drivers: Rate-base growth engine; Long dividend-growth record.
- NI drivers: A capital plan sized to the opportunity; Indiana data center load, contracted and approved.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: As a capital-intensive utility, Fortis carries substantial debt and is sensitive to interest rates; higher rates raise financing costs and make its dividend yield less attractive relative to bonds, which can pressure the share price. For NI, financing is the central risk.
FTS or NI: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick FTS if you believe its drivers more; NI if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the FTS and NI guides.
FTS vs NI: the full fundamentals
FTS. Fortis trades at a premium utility multiple (roughly 24x earnings), reflecting the market's willingness to pay up for regulated, predictable cash flows and a five-decade dividend-growth record. Reported figures are in Canadian dollars; USD conversions are approximate. The valuation leaves limited room for multiple expansion, so returns lean on earnings and dividend growth rather than re-rating.
NI. At roughly 22.6x trailing GAAP earnings and about 21x the midpoint of 2026 adjusted guidance, NiSource trades at a premium to the typical regulated gas utility, which is the market pricing in the data center growth rather than the current earnings stream. Quarterly numbers are seasonal and can look alarming out of context: second quarter 2026 GAAP EPS was $0.09 against $0.22 a year earlier, while first half adjusted EPS still rose to $1.22 from $1.19. The GenCo structure also matters for anyone comparing per share figures, because Blackstone's minority interest sits in noncontrolling interest and absorbs part of the generation economics.
Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): FTS shows market cap ~$27B USD (~CAD 36.5B), revenue (ttm) ~$8.7B USD (~CAD 12B), q1 2026 net earnings ~CAD 501M (~$0.99/share), p/e ratio ~24x; NI shows revenue (ttm) ~$6.9 billion through the June 2026 quarter, market capitalization ~$20.3 billion (~$42 per share on ~480 million shares), diluted eps (ttm, gaap) ~$1.88, a trailing P/E of roughly 22.6x, 2026 adjusted eps guidance $2.02 to $2.07, reaffirmed August 5, 2026 (~21x at recent prices).
The bottom line: FTS vs NI
FTS and NI are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined FTS and NI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how FTS or NI fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Fortis with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how FTS fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between FTS and NI?
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Fortis Inc. NiSource operates two reportable segments. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is FTS or NI the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. FTS is the larger incumbent; NI is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, FTS or NI?
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On forward P/E (as of September 2026), FTS trades at 19.88x and NI at 18.18x, so NI is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both FTS and NI?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of FTS vs NI?
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FTS: As a capital-intensive utility, Fortis carries substantial debt and is sensitive to interest rates; higher rates raise financing costs and make its dividend yield less attractive relative to bonds, which can pressure the share price. Earnings depend on regulators approving allowed returns and cost recovery, so adverse rate-case outcomes are a real risk. A large portion of assets and earnings are in U.S. dollars, adding currency translation exposure for Canadian reporting. The heavy ongoing capital program can require equity or debt issuance that may dilute shareholders or add leverage. Growth is inherently modest, so the stock can lag in strong bull markets and is best viewed as a defensive rather than high-return holding. NI: Financing is the central risk. Funding a $28.6 billion program while already carrying roughly $17.4 billion of debt means continued bond issuance at 2026 coupons (the May 2026 notes priced at 4.75% and 5.30%) plus equity issued through an at-the-market program, and share count has already drifted from about 470.7 million in April 2025 to about 479.6 million in July 2026, so per share growth can lag rate base growth. Regulatory risk is constant: allowed returns can be trimmed, cost recovery can be delayed, and the pending Indiana and FERC approvals tied to the Amazon and Alphabet arrangements are not decided until the fourth quarter of 2026. Customer concentration is a newer exposure, since a meaningful slice of future earnings depends on a small number of hyperscaler counterparties and on data center demand in northern Indiana holding up over contract lives measured in decades. Operationally, the R.M. Schahfer coal facility was scheduled to retire at the end of December 2025 but has been kept running under successive federal emergency orders, currently through September 19, 2026, which illustrates how reliability obligations and transition plans can collide. Gas distribution earnings also swing with weather, and pipeline safety obligations under PHMSA carry both cost and, as the industry's history shows, tail risk.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell FTS or NI; figures are approximate and dated (as of September 2026). Verify current data before investing.