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Side-by-side financial comparison of Southern Company (SO) and S&P Global (SPGI). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Southern Company is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($8.4B vs $4.2B, roughly 2.0× S&P Global). S&P Global runs the higher net margin — 36.1% vs 15.9%, a 20.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, S&P Global posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.0% vs 8.0%). Over the past eight quarters, Southern Company's revenue compounded faster (14.0% CAGR vs 8.4%).

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...

S&P Global Inc. is an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York. Its primary areas of business are financial information, analytics, and energy and commodities intelligence. It is the parent company of S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Energy, S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Mobility, and the Indian credit rating agency CRISIL. It is also the majority owner of the S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture. "S&P" is a shortening of "Standard and Poor's".

SO vs SPGI — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SO
SO
2.0× larger
SO
$8.4B
$4.2B
SPGI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SPGI
SPGI
+2.0% gap
SPGI
10.0%
8.0%
SO
Higher net margin
SPGI
SPGI
20.1% more per $
SPGI
36.1%
15.9%
SO
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SO
SO
Annualised
SO
14.0%
8.4%
SPGI

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Revenue
$8.4B
$4.2B
Net Profit
$1.3B
$1.5B
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
24.0%
48.0%
Net Margin
15.9%
36.1%
Revenue YoY
8.0%
10.0%
Net Profit YoY
5.4%
28.0%
EPS (diluted)
$4.69

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
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
$8.4B
$4.2B
Q4 25
$7.0B
$3.9B
Q3 25
$7.8B
$3.9B
Q2 25
$7.0B
$3.8B
Q1 25
$7.8B
$3.8B
Q4 24
$6.3B
$3.6B
Q3 24
$7.3B
$3.6B
Q2 24
$6.5B
$3.5B
Net Profit
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
$1.3B
$1.5B
Q4 25
$341.0M
$1.1B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$1.2B
Q2 25
$880.0M
$1.1B
Q1 25
$1.3B
$1.1B
Q4 24
$466.0M
$879.0M
Q3 24
$1.5B
$971.0M
Q2 24
$1.2B
$1.0B
Gross Margin
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
Q4 25
70.1%
Q3 25
71.2%
Q2 25
70.2%
Q1 25
69.5%
Q4 24
69.8%
Q3 24
70.0%
Q2 24
69.4%
Operating Margin
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
24.0%
48.0%
Q4 25
13.1%
42.7%
Q3 25
33.2%
43.1%
Q2 25
25.3%
41.3%
Q1 25
25.9%
41.8%
Q4 24
16.7%
36.4%
Q3 24
32.6%
40.1%
Q2 24
30.0%
40.9%
Net Margin
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
15.9%
36.1%
Q4 25
4.9%
28.9%
Q3 25
21.9%
30.2%
Q2 25
12.6%
28.5%
Q1 25
16.3%
28.9%
Q4 24
7.3%
24.5%
Q3 24
21.1%
27.2%
Q2 24
18.6%
28.5%
EPS (diluted)
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
$4.69
Q4 25
$0.38
$3.76
Q3 25
$1.54
$3.86
Q2 25
$0.79
$3.50
Q1 25
$1.21
$3.54
Q4 24
$0.48
$2.85
Q3 24
$1.39
$3.11
Q2 24
$1.09
$3.23

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
Total DebtLower is stronger
$13.3B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$31.3B
Total Assets
$60.8B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.43×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.6B
$1.8B
Q3 25
$3.3B
$1.7B
Q2 25
$1.3B
$1.8B
Q1 25
$2.3B
$1.5B
Q4 24
$1.1B
$1.7B
Q3 24
$1.0B
$1.7B
Q2 24
$1.2B
$2.0B
Total Debt
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
$13.3B
Q4 25
$65.6B
$13.1B
Q3 25
$64.6B
$11.4B
Q2 25
$63.0B
$11.4B
Q1 25
$62.9B
$11.4B
Q4 24
$58.8B
$11.4B
Q3 24
$61.3B
$11.4B
Q2 24
$59.9B
$11.4B
Stockholders' Equity
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
$31.3B
Q4 25
$36.0B
$31.1B
Q3 25
$38.3B
$33.1B
Q2 25
$37.3B
$33.4B
Q1 25
$37.2B
$33.4B
Q4 24
$33.2B
$33.2B
Q3 24
$36.9B
$34.0B
Q2 24
$36.1B
$34.9B
Total Assets
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
$60.8B
Q4 25
$155.7B
$61.2B
Q3 25
$153.2B
$59.7B
Q2 25
$148.9B
$60.4B
Q1 25
$148.1B
$59.9B
Q4 24
$145.2B
$60.2B
Q3 24
$144.0B
$60.4B
Q2 24
$141.9B
$61.0B
Debt / Equity
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
0.43×
Q4 25
1.82×
0.42×
Q3 25
1.69×
0.34×
Q2 25
1.69×
0.34×
Q1 25
1.69×
0.34×
Q4 24
1.77×
0.34×
Q3 24
1.66×
0.34×
Q2 24
1.66×
0.33×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$919.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
22.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$5.5B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$2.6B
$1.7B
Q3 25
$3.8B
$1.5B
Q2 25
$2.2B
$1.4B
Q1 25
$1.3B
$953.0M
Q4 24
$2.2B
$1.7B
Q3 24
$3.6B
$1.4B
Q2 24
$2.7B
$1.6B
Free Cash Flow
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
$919.0M
Q4 25
$-1.7B
$1.7B
Q3 25
$559.0M
$1.5B
Q2 25
$-619.0M
$1.4B
Q1 25
$-1.2B
$910.0M
Q4 24
$-576.0M
$1.7B
Q3 24
$1.3B
$1.4B
Q2 24
$563.0M
$1.5B
FCF Margin
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
22.0%
Q4 25
-24.2%
43.5%
Q3 25
7.1%
37.6%
Q2 25
-8.9%
36.9%
Q1 25
-15.3%
24.1%
Q4 24
-9.1%
47.5%
Q3 24
17.9%
39.4%
Q2 24
8.7%
42.9%
Capex Intensity
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
0.6%
Q4 25
61.4%
1.2%
Q3 25
41.1%
1.2%
Q2 25
40.2%
1.6%
Q1 25
31.3%
1.1%
Q4 24
43.4%
0.9%
Q3 24
31.8%
1.0%
Q2 24
32.9%
0.9%
Cash Conversion
SO
SO
SPGI
SPGI
Q1 26
Q4 25
7.62×
1.54×
Q3 25
2.21×
1.28×
Q2 25
2.48×
1.35×
Q1 25
0.98×
0.87×
Q4 24
4.66×
1.98×
Q3 24
2.36×
1.49×
Q2 24
2.23×
1.54×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

SO
SO

Segment breakdown not available.

SPGI
SPGI

Ratings$1.3B31%
Market Intelligence$1.3B31%
Energy$652.0M16%
Indices$519.0M12%
Mobility$454.0M11%

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