COMPARE · Data as of August 21, 2026

AEP vs SBS

Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AEP scored 63.3, SBS scored 60.5 — AEP leads.
Compare another set
AEP
American Electric Power Company, Inc.
Utilities - Regulated Electric · Quality-Growth
63.3
$120.94 · $65.8B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
2.8
AEP leads
SBS
Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo - SABESP
Utilities - Regulated Water · Quality-Growth
60.5
$4.61 · $16.2B
  • CheapestSBS2.1x
  • Fastest growthSBS+41.3%
  • Strongest balance sheetSBS1.14
  • Highest qualitySBS55 / 100
THE BULL RANKINGS SCORECARD63.3/ 100 · BULL SCOREPEER MEDIANQUALITY47.6GROWTH83.9VALUE63.7
THE BULL RANKINGS SCORECARD60.5/ 100 · BULL SCOREPEER MEDIANQUALITY54.8GROWTH79.6VALUE69.8
AEPSBSQuality47.654.8Growth83.979.6Value63.769.8
cheap & fastrevenue growth →← cheaper (lower multiple)1%51%0.0x7.9xAEPSBS

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.

FCFAEP-$2.4bSBS-$1.8b
RevAEP+10.9%SBS+41.3%
D/EAEP1.61SBS1.14
P/SAEP2.9xSBS2.1x
PEGAEP2.15SBS0.47
AEP
stronger →← stronger
SBS
48
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
55
84
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
80
64
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
70
SBS is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
AEP
SBS
-$2.4bF
FCF
-$1.8bF
+10.9%B
Rev
+41.3%A
1.61C+
D/E
1.14B+
2.9xB
P/S
2.1xB+
2.15C
PEG
0.47A
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.
AEP
Why this score
  • Short track record
SBS
Why this score
  • Raising its dividend
  • Diluting shareholders
  • Foreign reporter (BRL)
AEPAmerican Electric Power Company, Inc.
Utilities - Regulated Electric · $120.94 · beta 0.51
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.
SBSCompanhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo - SABESP
Utilities - Regulated Water · $4.61 · beta 0.09
Why now
Utilities - Regulated Water · market cap $16.2b. Down 36% from 52-week high of $7.16 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +41% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.47 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 5 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $6.76 (implying +47% upside).
Moat
Net margin 27% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 26% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$1.8b) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Down 36% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
AEP leads SBS by 2.2 points (65.7 to 63.5), its sharpest advantage coming in FCF (grade B). A contrarian could still prefer SBS for its stronger PEG (grade A). Note they play different roles — AEP screens as growth, SBS screens as spec — so the model rewards different traits for each.
Our AI analyst is busy right now, so this verdict is drawn directly from the pillars, grades and DCF above.
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 SBS diverge

On the headline score the gap is 2.8 points in favor of AEP. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.

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.