Southern (NYSE:SO) Issues Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO) issued an update on its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.000-1.000 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 1.020. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.500-4.600 EPS.

Southern Trading Up 3.4%

SO stock traded up $3.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $96.66. 8,323,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,847,013. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.12. Southern has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.08.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on both EPS and revenue — adjusted EPS came in at $1.32 versus ~$1.21 consensus, and revenue was $8.40B vs. $8.26B expected; margins and ROE improved year-over-year, supporting near-term earnings quality. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Higher power demand helped drive the beat and improved results, a cyclical tailwind that boosts near-term utility cash flow and earnings. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term guidance shows continued growth: FY2028 EPS range of 5.25–5.45 suggests management expects continued earnings expansion beyond near-term variability (supports long-horizon investor thesis).
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/target upgrades and estimate tweaks — small lift from Erste and a Wells Fargo price-target increase signal modest analyst support following results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released slides and conference materials for the quarter; useful for modeling regulatory drivers, rate cases and capital spend but no new regulatory news in the release. Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Deeper metrics analyses are available that compare Q1 results to estimates and last year; useful for modeling but not headline-moving by themselves. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance was slightly cautious — FY2026 EPS guidance of 4.50–4.60 has a midpoint a hair below consensus (~4.57) and Q2 guidance of 1.00 is below the ~1.02 estimate, leaving limited upside for the rest of the year if demand softens.
• Negative Sentiment: Relative-valuation/peer concerns: some analysts favor peers (e.g., Vistra) due to cheaper valuation or more aggressive clean-energy investments, which could limit multiple expansion for SO. Article Title

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 11,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 3.6% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.5% during the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keebeck Wealth Management raised its holdings in Southern by 2.2% during the third quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management now owns 5,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.