HE vs XEL: How Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. and Xcel Energy Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 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.

Reading it: HE is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

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. HE and XEL 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 HE and XEL 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.

Hawaiian Electric Industries is a Honolulu holding company whose one meaningful business is Hawaiian Electric, the regulated electric utility serving Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Hawaii Island. That footprint covers about 95% of the state's population, roughly 470,000 customer accounts, and every county except Kauai, which is served by a member-owned cooperative. The economics are unusual for a US utility: each island runs its own isolated grid with no interconnection to anything else, generation has historically leaned heavily on imported oil, and Hawaii carries the highest retail electricity rates in the country. State law requires 100% renewable electricity by 2045, so the utility's capital plan is a long grid-and-renewables buildout rather than a maintenance program. HEI is also a much simpler company than it was two years ago: it divested 90.1% of American Savings Bank at a $450 million valuation at the end of 2024, keeping a 9.9% stake, and wound down its Pacific Current infrastructure arm through 2025. Trailing twelve-month revenue is about $3.1 billion, essentially all of it regulated utility revenue.

Full HE guide

Xcel Energy (XEL) is a large regulated electric and natural gas utility serving roughly 3.9 million electric and 2.1 million natural gas customers across eight Western and Midwestern states, including Colorado, Minnesota, Texas, and the Dakotas. Its earnings come mainly from regulated operations, where state commissions set the rates it can charge and allow a return on the capital it invests in poles, wires, power plants, and pipelines. That rate-regulated model produces relatively stable, predictable cash flows and has supported dividend increases for more than two decades. Xcel is also one of the largest operators of wind and renewable generation in the United States and has publicly targeted a shift toward carbon-free electricity, funded by a large multi-year capital-investment plan that expands and modernizes its grid. Rising electricity demand from data centers, electrification, and economic growth in its service territories supports that spending. The main overhang is wildfire liability: like other Western utilities, Xcel faces the risk that its equipment could be linked to fires, and it has recognized costs tied to the Smokehouse Creek fire in Texas. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Xcel is widely held as a defensive, income-oriented, rate-sensitive utility.

Full XEL guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• HE drivers: A capital plan that finally grows the rate base; The 2027 rate rebasing.
• XEL drivers: Regulated utility model and stable cash flows; Renewables leadership and grid investment.

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: The obvious risk is another fire. For XEL, xcel's most significant risk is wildfire liability: like other Western utilities, its equipment could be linked to fires, and it has recognized costs tied to the Smokehouse Creek fire in Texas, with related litigation outstanding.

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 HE if you believe its drivers more; XEL 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 HE and XEL guides.

HE. HE screens strangely against utility peers because the usual anchors are missing: there is no dividend yield, the credit rating is below investment grade, and trailing earnings still carry wildfire-related and divestiture-related noise. At roughly 17 times trailing earnings on a ~$0.74 EPS base, the multiple looks ordinary while the earnings base itself is depressed relative to the rate base the company is about to build. The 52-week range of about $10.60 to $17.38 and a beta near 0.51 capture the tension: low correlation to the broad market, but large moves on legal and regulatory headlines, and the analyst average price target near $12.75 sits close to the market price rather than above it.

XEL. Xcel is valued like a regulated utility, so investors focus on its rate base, allowed returns, dividend yield, and earnings-growth target rather than on rapid revenue growth. Its earnings tend to grow steadily as regulators approve capital spending and rate increases, and the dividend yield near 3% is a central part of the total-return case. Utility valuations are also sensitive to interest rates, which affect both borrowing costs and how the dividend compares to bonds. Wildfire liability is the main wild card weighing on sentiment. Figures are approximate and change over time; verify current numbers before relying on them.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): HE shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.1 billion, down ~3% year over year, net income / eps (ttm) ~$127 million, ~$0.74 per share, q1 2026 core eps ~$0.18, down from ~$0.23 a year earlier, market cap and p/e ~$2.2 billion at ~$12.50 a share, ~17x trailing earnings; XEL shows revenue (ttm) ~$14 billion, business regulated electric and natural gas utility, customers ~3.9 million electric, ~2.1 million gas across 8 states, 2026 ongoing eps guidance ~$4.04 to $4.16 per share.

HE and XEL 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 HE and XEL exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.