COMPARE · Data as of August 21, 2026
AEP vs AQN
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AEP scored 63.3, AQN scored 50.6 — AEP leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. AEP's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but AQN's are as of December 2025 — a 6-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
AEP
American Electric Power Company, Inc.
63.3
$120.94 · $65.8B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
12.7
AEP leads
AQN
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.
50.6
$5.70 · $4.4B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
- CheapestAQN1.8x
- Fastest growthAEP+10.9%
- Strongest balance sheetAQN1.34
- Highest qualityAEP48 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/S multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
AEP
stronger →← stronger
AQN
48
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
33
84
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
65
64
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
60
AEP is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AEP
AQN
-$2.4bF
FCF
-$178mF
+10.9%B
Rev
+4.9%C+
1.61C+
D/E
1.34B
2.9xB
P/S
1.8xB+
2.15C
PEG
1.72C+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Model signals
AEP
Why this score
- Short track record
AQN
Why this score
- Diluting shareholders
- Cut its dividend
The companies
AEPAmerican Electric Power Company, Inc.
Why now
Utilities - Regulated Electric · market cap $65.8b. 14% off the 52-week high of $140.58. Revenue growing +11%, comfortably above the S&P median. 20 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $144.20 (implying +19% upside).
Moat
Net margin 14% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 10% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. $65.8b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$2.4b) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk.
AQNAlgonquin Power & Utilities Corp.
Why now
Utilities - Diversified · market cap $4.4b. 20% off the 52-week high of $7.11. 10 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $6.75 (implying +18% upside).
Moat
Higher-variance name — the moat signals on the quantitative card are modest, so the durability case rests on execution (turning current growth into durable earnings power) or an un-monetized asset (IP / network effects / first-mover position) rather than an entrenched competitive position.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$178m) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Dividend payout 108% of earnings on a 4.5% yield — distribution coverage is thin; one earnings stumble could force a dividend cut. ROE 4% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where AEP and AQN diverge
On the headline score the gap is 12.7 points in favor of AEP. The widest single difference is Growth, where AEP leads by 19.0 points.
- GrowthAEP 83.9 · AQN 64.9AEP +19.0
- QualityAEP 47.6 · AQN 33.5AEP +14.1
- ValueAEP 63.7 · AQN 59.6AEP +4.1
Pillars run 0–100 against sector peers, so a score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.