What You Need to Know Ahead of Southern Company's Earnings Release

Core Insights - The Southern Company (SO) is valued at a market cap of $97.9 billion and is set to announce its fiscal Q4 earnings for 2025 on February 19, 2025 [1] Earnings Expectations - Analysts anticipate SO to report a profit of $0.58 per share for Q4 2025, reflecting a 16% increase from $0.50 per share in the same quarter last year [2] - For the current fiscal year ending in December, SO is expected to report a profit of $4.29 per share, a 5.9% increase from $4.05 per share in fiscal 2024 [3] - EPS is projected to grow by 7% year-over-year to $4.59 in fiscal 2026 [3] Recent Performance - SO's shares increased by 1.7% following better-than-expected Q3 results, with total operating revenue rising 7.5% year-over-year to $7.8 billion, surpassing consensus expectations by 3.7% [5] - The adjusted EPS for the previous quarter improved by 11.9% from the year-ago quarter to $1.60, exceeding analyst estimates by 6.7% [5] Stock Performance and Analyst Ratings - Over the past 52 weeks, SO has gained 6%, underperforming the S&P 500 Index's 16.9% return and the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF's 10.2% increase [4] - The overall analyst rating for SO is "Hold," with 24 analysts covering the stock: five recommend "Strong Buy," one "Moderate Buy," 16 "Hold," and two "Strong Sell" [6] - The mean price target for SO is $97.12, indicating a potential upside of 9.2% from current levels [6]