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Southern Company (The) Series 2

SOJE
40
Regulated Electric · Utilities
Price
$16.72
+0.04 (+0.24%)
Market Cap
$107.69B
Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
Winston Score
40
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Share count rising — dilution

+4.5% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 1.06B (2021) → 1.11B (2025)

Southern Company is a large electric and natural gas utility based in Atlanta, Georgia. It provides electricity and natural gas to roughly 9 million customers across the southeastern United States, mainly in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. It is one of the largest utility companies in the country and owns Georgia Power, Alabama Power, and Mississippi Power, among other subsidiaries.

Southern Company makes most of its money by charging customers for electricity and gas through rates approved by state regulators, which provides steady and predictable revenue. It operates almost entirely in the U.S. South and has a strong competitive position because regulated utilities typically face little direct competition in their service territories. The company recently completed the Vogtle nuclear plant expansion in Georgia — the first new U.S. nuclear reactors built in decades — which added significant costs but also long-term generating capacity; managing the resulting rate increases and debt load is a key financial challenge going forward.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+8.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+0.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (1%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

0.1%ownership

Relatively low insider ownership

Cash Runway

~9 months

$5.2B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

Southern Company (The) Series 2 has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

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Quality

Gross Margin
46.5%
Healthy — 46.5% gross margin
Operating Margin
24.0%
Excellent — 24.0% operating margin
ROCE
1.8%
Weak — 1.8% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+8.3%
Steady sales growth (8.3% YoY)
EPS YoY
-6.2%
Earnings shrinking (-6.2% YoY)

Slight earnings drop. Typical near a cyclical low.

EPS Consistency
2/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
224%
Turns 224% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
-12.5%
Burning cash (-12.5%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
2.01
Heavy debt load (2.01)
Interest Cover
2.16x
Tight — interest eats into profit (2.2x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
4.2x
Attractive valuation — P/E 4.2

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

P/E vs Forward
+1.1
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow — slightly cheaper on forward P/E

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
3.13%
Moderate income — 3.13% yield

Standard yield zone for stable dividend payers. A meaningful piece of total return.

Dividend Growth
+0.0%
Dividend flat

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