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Side-by-side financial comparison of NiSource (NI) and Xcel Energy (XEL), based on the latest 10-Q / 10-K filings. Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Xcel Energy is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($3.6B vs $1.9B, roughly 1.9× NiSource). Xcel Energy runs the higher net margin — 13.7% vs 15.9%, a 2.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, NiSource posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (22.5% vs 14.1%). NiSource produced more free cash flow last quarter ($-133.7M vs $-3.2B). Over the past eight quarters, NiSource's revenue compounded faster (7.2% CAGR vs -1.2%).
NiSource Inc. is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.5 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. The company, based in Merrillville, Indiana, has more than 8,000 employees. As of 2018, NiSource is the sole Indiana-based utility company.
Xcel Energy Inc. is a U.S. regulated electric utility and natural gas delivery company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving approximately 3.9 million electricity customers and 2.2 million natural gas customers across parts of eight states as of mid-2025. It consists of four operating subsidiaries: Northern States Power-Minnesota, Northern States Power-Wisconsin, Public Service Company of Colorado, and Southwestern Public Service Co.
NI vs XEL — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.9B | $3.6B |
| Net Profit | $257.8M | $567.0M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 27.3% | 16.3% |
| Net Margin | 13.7% | 15.9% |
| Revenue YoY | 22.5% | 14.1% |
| Net Profit YoY | 15.1% | 22.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.53 | $0.95 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align — see 8-quarter trend below.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history — bar widths are scaled to the larger of the two companies so you can eyeball the size gap and growth trajectory without doing math. Quarters aligned by calendar period (report date) so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $1.9B | $3.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.2B | $3.9B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.2B | $3.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.1B | $3.9B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.5B | $3.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.0B | $3.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.1B | $3.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.6B | $3.6B |
| Q4 25 | $257.8M | $567.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $94.7M | $524.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $102.2M | $444.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $474.8M | $483.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $223.9M | $464.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $85.7M | $682.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $85.8M | $302.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $365.0M | $488.0M |
| Q4 25 | 27.3% | 16.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 24.0% | 19.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 21.1% | 17.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 35.3% | 17.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 27.1% | 11.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 20.9% | 25.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 22.5% | 14.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 35.5% | 18.6% |
| Q4 25 | 13.7% | 15.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 7.6% | 13.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 8.2% | 13.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 22.1% | 12.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 14.5% | 14.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 8.2% | 18.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 8.1% | 10.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | 22.2% | 13.4% |
| Q4 25 | $0.53 | $0.95 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.20 | $0.88 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.22 | $0.75 | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.00 | $0.84 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.47 | $0.81 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.19 | $1.21 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.19 | $0.54 | ||
| Q1 24 | $0.77 | $0.88 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest filing — the kind of financial-strength check premium terminals charge for.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $110.1M | — |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $15.5B | $31.8B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $9.5B | $23.6B |
| Total Assets | $35.9B | $81.4B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 1.64× | 1.35× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $110.1M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $95.0M | $1.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $335.4M | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $259.4M | $1.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $156.6M | $179.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $126.2M | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $101.2M | $1.6B | ||
| Q1 24 | $102.2M | $501.0M |
| Q4 25 | $15.5B | $31.8B | ||
| Q3 25 | $14.5B | $32.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.5B | $31.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $12.8B | $29.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $12.1B | $27.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $12.1B | $27.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.8B | $27.7B | ||
| Q1 24 | $11.7B | $26.4B |
| Q4 25 | $9.5B | $23.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $9.1B | $21.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $8.9B | $21.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9B | $19.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $8.7B | $19.5B | ||
| Q3 24 | $8.3B | $19.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.9B | $18.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $7.9B | $17.8B |
| Q4 25 | $35.9B | $81.4B | ||
| Q3 25 | $34.4B | $79.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $34.0B | $75.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1B | $72.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $31.8B | $70.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $30.8B | $69.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $29.9B | $67.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $29.3B | $65.6B |
| Q4 25 | 1.64× | 1.35× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.59× | 1.51× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.63× | 1.48× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.44× | 1.48× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.39× | 1.40× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.45× | 1.42× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.63× | 1.54× | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.48× | 1.48× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Net income can be massaged; cash flow is harder to fake.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $712.6M | $209.0M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-133.7M | $-3.2B |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -7.1% | -90.7% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue; lower = less reinvestment burden | 44.9% | 96.5% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit; >1× = earnings back up with cash | 2.76× | 0.37× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-420.0M | $-6.8B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $712.6M | $209.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $467.9M | $1.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $495.4M | $1.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $686.4M | $1.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $539.8M | $664.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $340.0M | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $445.5M | $1.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $456.2M | $1.1B |
| Q4 25 | $-133.7M | $-3.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $-172.6M | $-1.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $-162.8M | $-1.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $49.1M | $-960.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-220.2M | $-1.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $-294.7M | $-42.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-184.3M | $-641.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-133.3M | $-487.0M |
| Q4 25 | -7.1% | -90.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | -13.9% | -33.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | -13.1% | -40.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.3% | -24.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | -14.3% | -49.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | -28.2% | -1.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | -17.5% | -21.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | -8.1% | -13.3% |
| Q4 25 | 44.9% | 96.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 51.6% | 78.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 52.8% | 73.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 29.6% | 50.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 49.4% | 71.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 60.7% | 48.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 59.7% | 60.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 35.9% | 42.1% |
| Q4 25 | 2.76× | 0.37× | ||
| Q3 25 | 4.94× | 3.37× | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.85× | 2.43× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.45× | 2.13× | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.41× | 1.43× | ||
| Q3 24 | 3.97× | 2.55× | ||
| Q2 24 | 5.19× | 3.94× | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.25× | 2.15× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Sankey diagram of revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company. Charts shown full-width and stacked so both segment hierarchies are readable side-by-side on desktop and mobile.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
NI
| Residential | $703.6M | 37% |
| Ni Source Electric Generation And Power Delivery | $525.6M | 28% |
| NIPSCO Gas Distribution | $348.1M | 18% |
| Commercial | $235.9M | 13% |
| Industrial | $45.9M | 2% |
| Offsystem | $16.9M | 1% |
| Misc. | $9.6M | 1% |
| Related Party | $3.3M | 0% |
XEL
| Retail Distribution | $2.3B | 64% |
| Regulated Natural Gas Segment | $737.0M | 21% |
| Alternativeand Other | $212.0M | 6% |
| Transmission Services | $164.0M | 5% |
| Wholesale Distribution | $159.0M | 4% |
| Other Services | $8.0M | 0% |
