vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of PLAINS ALL AMERICAN PIPELINE LP (PAA) and Southern Company (SO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

PLAINS ALL AMERICAN PIPELINE LP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($10.0B vs $7.0B, roughly 1.4× Southern Company). Southern Company runs the higher net margin — 4.9% vs 3.4%, a 1.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Southern Company posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (146.8% vs -19.1%). Over the past eight quarters, Southern Company's revenue compounded faster (3.9% CAGR vs -8.6%).

Plains is a master limited partnership engaged in pipeline transport, marketing, and storage of liquefied petroleum gas and petroleum in the United States and Canada. Plains owns interests in 18,370 miles (29,560 km) of pipelines, storage capacity for about 75 million barrels of crude oil, 28 million barrels of NGLs, 68 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 5 natural gas processing plants. The company is headquartered in the Allen Center in Downtown Houston, Texas. Plains is a publicly trade...

Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of 2021 it is the second largest utility company in the U.S. in terms of customer base. Through its subsidiaries it serves 9 million gas and electric utility customers in 6 states. Southern Company's regulated regional electric utilities serve a 120,000-square-mile (310,000 km2) territor...

PAA vs SO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PAA
PAA
1.4× larger
PAA
$10.0B
$7.0B
SO
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SO
SO
+165.9% gap
SO
146.8%
-19.1%
PAA
Higher net margin
SO
SO
1.5% more per $
SO
4.9%
3.4%
PAA
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SO
SO
Annualised
SO
3.9%
-8.6%
PAA

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Revenue
$10.0B
$7.0B
Net Profit
$341.0M
$341.0M
Gross Margin
7.0%
Operating Margin
1.8%
13.1%
Net Margin
3.4%
4.9%
Revenue YoY
-19.1%
146.8%
Net Profit YoY
847.2%
483.1%
EPS (diluted)

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
$7.0B
Q4 25
$10.0B
$7.0B
Q3 25
$11.6B
$7.8B
Q2 25
$10.6B
$7.0B
Q1 25
$12.0B
$7.8B
Q4 24
$12.4B
$6.3B
Q3 24
$12.7B
$7.3B
Q2 24
$12.9B
$6.5B
Net Profit
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
$341.0M
Q4 25
$341.0M
$341.0M
Q3 25
$441.0M
$1.7B
Q2 25
$210.0M
$880.0M
Q1 25
$443.0M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$36.0M
$466.0M
Q3 24
$220.0M
$1.5B
Q2 24
$250.0M
$1.2B
Gross Margin
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
7.0%
Q3 25
8.6%
Q2 25
8.3%
Q1 25
10.4%
Q4 24
9.5%
Q3 24
9.3%
Q2 24
8.3%
Operating Margin
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
13.1%
Q4 25
1.8%
13.1%
Q3 25
4.2%
33.2%
Q2 25
2.2%
25.3%
Q1 25
4.4%
25.9%
Q4 24
0.7%
16.7%
Q3 24
2.7%
32.6%
Q2 24
2.9%
30.0%
Net Margin
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
4.9%
Q4 25
3.4%
4.9%
Q3 25
3.8%
21.9%
Q2 25
2.0%
12.6%
Q1 25
3.7%
16.3%
Q4 24
0.3%
7.3%
Q3 24
1.7%
21.1%
Q2 24
1.9%
18.6%
EPS (diluted)
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$0.38
Q3 25
$1.54
Q2 25
$0.79
Q1 25
$1.21
Q4 24
$0.48
Q3 24
$1.39
Q2 24
$1.09

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$328.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$10.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
Total Assets
$30.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$328.0M
$1.6B
Q3 25
$1.2B
$3.3B
Q2 25
$459.0M
$1.3B
Q1 25
$427.0M
$2.3B
Q4 24
$348.0M
$1.1B
Q3 24
$640.0M
$1.0B
Q2 24
$553.0M
$1.2B
Total Debt
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$10.7B
$65.6B
Q3 25
$8.4B
$64.6B
Q2 25
$8.2B
$63.0B
Q1 25
$8.2B
$62.9B
Q4 24
$7.2B
$58.8B
Q3 24
$7.2B
$61.3B
Q2 24
$7.2B
$59.9B
Stockholders' Equity
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$36.0B
Q3 25
$38.3B
Q2 25
$37.3B
Q1 25
$37.2B
Q4 24
$33.2B
Q3 24
$36.9B
Q2 24
$36.1B
Total Assets
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$30.2B
$155.7B
Q3 25
$28.1B
$153.2B
Q2 25
$27.2B
$148.9B
Q1 25
$27.1B
$148.1B
Q4 24
$26.6B
$145.2B
Q3 24
$27.2B
$144.0B
Q2 24
$27.5B
$141.9B
Debt / Equity
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.82×
Q3 25
1.69×
Q2 25
1.69×
Q1 25
1.69×
Q4 24
1.77×
Q3 24
1.66×
Q2 24
1.66×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$786.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$638.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
6.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.30×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$2.3B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$786.0M
$2.6B
Q3 25
$817.0M
$3.8B
Q2 25
$694.0M
$2.2B
Q1 25
$639.0M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$727.0M
$2.2B
Q3 24
$691.0M
$3.6B
Q2 24
$653.0M
$2.7B
Free Cash Flow
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$638.0M
$-1.7B
Q3 25
$632.0M
$559.0M
Q2 25
$575.0M
$-619.0M
Q1 25
$448.0M
$-1.2B
Q4 24
$561.0M
$-576.0M
Q3 24
$534.0M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$514.0M
$563.0M
FCF Margin
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
6.4%
-24.2%
Q3 25
5.5%
7.1%
Q2 25
5.4%
-8.9%
Q1 25
3.7%
-15.3%
Q4 24
4.5%
-9.1%
Q3 24
4.2%
17.9%
Q2 24
4.0%
8.7%
Capex Intensity
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.5%
61.4%
Q3 25
1.6%
41.1%
Q2 25
1.1%
40.2%
Q1 25
1.6%
31.3%
Q4 24
1.3%
43.4%
Q3 24
1.2%
31.8%
Q2 24
1.1%
32.9%
Cash Conversion
PAA
PAA
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
2.30×
7.62×
Q3 25
1.85×
2.21×
Q2 25
3.30×
2.48×
Q1 25
1.44×
0.98×
Q4 24
20.19×
4.66×
Q3 24
3.14×
2.36×
Q2 24
2.61×
2.23×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

PAA
PAA

Products$9.6B96%
Transportation$341.0M3%
Terminalling Storage And Other$90.0M1%
Affiliated Entity$14.0M0%

SO
SO

Segment breakdown not available.

Related Comparisons