Southern Co (Southern Co) Debt-to-Equity

: 2.02 (As of Dec. 2023)

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Southern Co's Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was $4,973 Mil. Southern Co's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was $58,517 Mil. Southern Co's Total Stockholders Equity for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was $31,444 Mil. Southern Co's debt to equity for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was 2.02.

A high debt to equity ratio generally means that a company has been aggressive in financing its growth with debt. This can result in volatile earnings as a result of the additional interest expense.

The historical rank and industry rank for Southern Co's Debt-to-Equity or its related term are showing as below:

SO' s Debt-to-Equity Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 1.18 Med: 1.87 Max: 2.07
Current: 2.02

During the past 13 years, the highest Debt-to-Equity Ratio of Southern Co was 2.07. The lowest was 1.18. And the median was 1.87.

SO's Debt-to-Equity is ranked worse than
86.5% of 474 companies
in the Utilities - Regulated industry
Industry Median: 0.84 vs SO: 2.02

Southern Co Debt-to-Equity Historical Data

The historical data trend for Southern Co's Debt-to-Equity can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

Southern Co Annual Data

Trend

Dec14

Dec15

Dec16

Dec17

Dec18

Dec19

Dec20

Dec21

Dec22

Dec23

Debt-to-Equity

1.75

1.81

1.97

1.95

2.02

Southern Co Quarterly Data
	Mar19	Jun19	Sep19	Dec19	Mar20	Jun20	Sep20	Dec20	Mar21	Jun21	Sep21	Dec21	Mar22	Jun22	Sep22	Dec22	Mar23	Jun23	Sep23	Dec23
Debt-to-Equity																1.95	1.98	2.03	1.99	2.02

Competitive Comparison

For the Utilities - Regulated Electric subindustry, Southern Co's Debt-to-Equity, along with its competitors' market caps and Debt-to-Equity data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

Southern Co Debt-to-Equity Distribution

For the Utilities - Regulated industry and Utilities sector, Southern Co's Debt-to-Equity distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Southern Co's Debt-to-Equity falls into.

Southern Co Debt-to-Equity Calculation

Debt to Equity measures the financial leverage a company has.

Southern Co's Debt to Equity Ratio for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2023 is calculated as

Debt to Equity	=	Total Debt			/	Total Stockholders Equity
	=	(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation	+	Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation)	/	Total Stockholders Equity
	=	(4973	+	58517)	/	31444
	=	2.02

Southern Co's Debt to Equity Ratio for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 is calculated as

Debt to Equity	=	Total Debt			/	Total Stockholders Equity
	=	(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation	+	Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation)	/	Total Stockholders Equity
	=	(4973	+	58517)	/	31444
	=	2.02

Southern Co (NYSE:SO) Debt-to-Equity Explanation

In the calculation of Debt to Equity, we use the total of Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation divided by Total Stockholders Equity. In some calculations, Total Liabilities is used to for calculation.

Be Aware

Because a company can increase its ROE % by having more financial leverage, it is important to watch the leverage ratio when investing in high ROE % companies.

Southern Co Debt-to-Equity Related Terms

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Southern Co (Southern Co) Business Description

Industry

GURUFOCUS.COM » STOCK LIST » Utilities » Utilities - Regulated » Southern Co (NYSE:SO) » Definitions » Debt-to-Equity

Comparable Companies

Traded in Other Exchanges

SOT:Germany T1SO34:Brazil

Address

30 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, Northwest, Atlanta, GA, USA, 30308

Website

https://www.southerncompany.com

Southern is one of the largest utilities in the U.S. The company serves 9 million customers with vertically integrated electric utilities in three states and natural gas distribution utilities in four states. It owns 50 gigawatts of rate-regulated generating capacity, primarily for serving customers in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Subsidiary Southern Power owns 13 gigawatts of natural gas generation and renewable energy across the U.S. and sells the electricity primarily under long-term contracts.

Executives

David P. Poroch	officer: Comptroller	241 RALPH MCGILL BLVD., ATLANTA GA 30308
Stephen E Kuczynski	officer: Pres. & CEO, Southern Nuclear	30 IVAN ALLEN JR. BLVD, NW, ATLANTA GA 30308
Shantella E. Cooper	director	241 RALPH MCGILL BLVD., NW, ATLANTA GA 30308
Martin Bernard Davis	officer: EVP and CIO	520 GERVAIS STREET, C/O SOUTH STATE CORP, COLUMBIA SC 29201
Christopher Cummiskey	officer: EVP & CCCS Officer	241 RALPH MCGILL BLVD., ATLANTA GA 30308
Kimberly S, Greene	officer: President & CEO, SCS	30 IVAN ALLEN JR. BLVD., NW, ATLANTA GA 30308
Thomas A Fanning	officer: CFO
Bryan D Anderson	officer: EVP & Pres. External Affairs	30 IVAN ALLEN JR. BLVD. NW, ATLANTA GA 30308
Spainhour Sterling A Jr.	officer: EVP, Chief Legal Officer & CCO	4370 PEACHTREE ROAD, NE, ATLANTA GA 30319
Lizanne Thomas	director	1420 PEACHTREE STREET NE, SUITE 800, ATLANTA GA 30309
David E Meador	director	ONE ENERGY PLAZA, DETROIT MI 48226
Sloane N Drake	officer: EVP, CHRO	30 IVAN ALLEN JR BLVD NW, ATLANTA GA 30308
James Jeffrey Peoples	officer: Chairman, President & CEO, APC	600 NORTH 18TH STREET, BIRMINGHAM AL 35203
Kerr, Ii James Y	officer: Executive VP & General Counsel	30 IVAN ALLEN JR. BLVD., NW, ATLANTA GA 30308
Anthony L Wilson	officer: President, Mississippi Power	30 IVAN ALLEN JR. BLVD, ATLANTA GA 30308