KINDER MORGAN, INC. vs SOUTHERN CO, two Utilities stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Kinder Morgan runs natural-gas pipelines as a C-corporation, so it tolls volume for fees but pays an ordinary dividend rather than a K-1 distribution. Southern Company is a regulated electric utility earning an allowed return on its rate base. The pair sit close on returns, 10.17 percent on equity for Kinder Morgan and 10.93 for Southern, but split on cash: Kinder Morgan yielded 4.31 percent free cash while Southern's grid spending drove it to negative 3.17. Kinder Morgan holds the wider net margin, 18.92 percent to 14.46, pays more, 3.53 percent against 3.03, and trades cheaper on both earnings and book, 22.27 times and 2.27 versus 24.81 and 2.74.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | KMI | SO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $32.13 | $95.61 |
| Market cap | $71.5B | $107.8B |
| Sector | Utilities | Utilities |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +13.5% | — |
| P/E | 21.6 | 24.4 |
| P/B | 2.19 | 2.70 |
| P/S | 4.08 | 3.57 |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.8 | 14.9 |
| Revenue growth | +13.0% | +8.6% |
| Operating margin | 29.9% | 24.0% |
| Net margin | 18.9% | 14.5% |
| Return on equity | 10.2% | 10.9% |
| Return on assets | 4.5% | 2.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 6.0% | 15.0% |
| FCF yield | 4.5% | -3.2% |
| Dividend yield | 3.6% | 3.1% |
| Debt / equity | 0.98 | 0.04 |
| Current ratio | 0.52 | 0.65 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.13 | 0.75 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.