Southern Company operates as an energy holding company, primarily engaged in generating and selling electricity. Its operations are divided into three distinct ...
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is a prominent American gas and electric utility holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1945, it has grown to become the second-largest utility company in the U.S. by customer base, serving approximately 9 million customers through its various subsidiaries. The company operates through three ...Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is a prominent American gas and electric utility holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1945, it has grown to become the second-largest utility company in the U.S. by customer base, serving approximately 9 million customers through its various subsidiaries. The company operates through three primary business segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power, and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric segment includes regulated utilities such as Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power, which generate, transmit, and distribute electricity across Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi. Southern Power develops and operates power generation assets, including renewable energy projects, selling electricity in the wholesale market. Southern Company Gas manages natural gas distribution networks in states like Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and others. The company is committed to transitioning to a clean energy future, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions while maintaining reliability and affordability. Financially, Southern Company has a substantial market capitalization (around $107 billion as of the data) and generates significant revenue but carries a considerable debt load typical of capital-intensive utilities. Key financial metrics show a return on equity of 12.6% and a net profit margin of 15.4%. The company pays dividends, reflecting its stability as an income-generating investment. Under the leadership of Chairman, President, and CEO Chris Womack, with over 35 years in the energy sector, Southern Company is navigating the industry's transformation, investing in grid modernization, renewable energy, and natural gas infrastructure. The company also emphasizes customer service and community engagement, aiming to provide resilient energy solutions that connect communities to opportunity. Its strategic initiatives include issuing social and sustainability bonds to fund projects that benefit society and the environment. Overall, Southern Company remains a cornerstone of the American energy landscape, balancing regulatory obligations, shareholder returns, and environmental stewardship.
YoYYoY means Year-over-Year. It compares the latest annual value with the previous annual value to show long-term trend strength.
QoQQoQ means Quarter-over-Quarter. It compares the latest quarter with the immediately previous quarter to show short-term momentum changes.
RevenueThe total money that came through the front door from selling things, before paying a single bill. Think of it as the grand total of every credit card swipe from customers. (YoY compares this year to last year's performance, while QoQ compares the current three months to the previous three).
$29.6B
+10.6%
-16.9%
Net IncomeThe absolute bottom line. If the company paid every single supplier, employee, banker, and tax collector, this is the actual money left in their pocket at the end of the day.
$4.3B
-1.4%
-13.4%
Gross MarginThe basic markup. If they sell a $100 pair of sneakers, this percentage tells you how much of that price tag is profit right after paying for the rubber and shoelaces, but before paying for things like store rent or TV commercials.
+29.8%
-40.3%
+10.3%
Operating MarginThe 'day job' efficiency score. Out of every dollar a customer spends, this shows how many cents the company keeps after making the product AND paying for all the everyday corporate overhead (like salaries, marketing, and keeping the lights on).
+24.6%
-7.0%
+5.9%
Net MarginThe final take-home percentage. When you strip away every conceivable cost, tax, and interest payment, this is the exact number of cents the company truly gets to keep from every dollar in sales.
+14.7%
-10.8%
+4.2%
Free Cash FlowThe holy grail of corporate cash. It's the spendable, physical money left over after the business pays for its daily operations AND buys the big, expensive upgrades (like new factories or servers) it needs to survive. This is the 'free' money they can use to pay dividends or buy back stock.
$-2.9B
-452.3%
+425.7%
FCF MarginThe ultimate cash conversion rate. It shows how good the company is at turning regular sales directly into cold, hard, spendable cash. A high percentage means the business is an absolute cash-printing machine.
-9.9%
-418.6%
+492.0%
Debt / EquityThe financial risk gauge. It compares how much of the company's empire was built using borrowed money (loans) versus the owners' own money (shareholders). A high number means they are heavily leveraged and playing a riskier game; a low number means they are playing it safe.
205.7%
+3.1%
-4.9%
Current RatioThe 12-month survival check. It simply compares the cash they have right now (plus things they can quickly turn into cash) against the immediate bills they absolutely must pay this year. A score above 1 means they have enough in the wallet to cover the upcoming bills without panicking.
0.65x
-3.3%
+21.0%
Total AssetsThe absolute size of the company's empire. It bundles together absolutely everything of value they own—from the cash in the register and the inventory in the warehouse, to the software patents in the vault and the factories on the ground.
Operator: Good afternoon. My name is Christine, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to The Southern Company's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Gregg MacLeod, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.
Gregg MacLeod: Thank you, Christine. Good afternoon, and welcome to Southern Company's second quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Joining me today are Christopher C. Womack, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Company and David P. Poroch, chief financial officer. Let me remind you that we will make forward-looking statements today in addition to providing historical information. Various important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Including those discussed in our Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, and subsequent securities filings. In addition, we will present non-GAAP financial information on this call. Reconciliations to the applicable GAAP measure are included in the financial information we released this morning as well as the slides for this conference call. Which are both available on our Investor Relations website at investor.southerncompany.com. At this time, I will turn the call over to Christopher C. Womack.
Christopher C. Womack: Thank you, Greg. Good afternoon, everyone. And thank you for joining us for today's update. As you can see from the materials that were released this morning, Southern Company continues to perform exceptionally well which supports a very bright future. We reported strong adjusted earnings results for the second quarter with each of our businesses contributing to performance meaningfully above the estimate we provided last quarter. The extraordinary economic development momentum and demand for power across our Southeast region we have seen for the past several years continues particularly from data centers and other large load customers and our utilities are capturing this growth in a way that meaningfully benefits the customers and communities we are privileged to serve and support our long-term outlook. In just the last quarter, there were three projects across the state of Alabama, Alabama Power added approximately 3 GW, while Georgia Power signed a 3.2 GW 25-year contract for electric service with OpenAI at its recently announced site near Savannah, Georgia. This site, which is expected to take electric service in phases beginning in 2028 features 1 GW of flexible demand response helping to support reliable energy for all customers when demand is highest. Combined, these four projects representing 6 GW of newly contracted customer load along with agreements previously signed brings our total contract to large load agreements …
