Duke Energy vs NRG Energy
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Duke Energy and NRG Energy side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Duke Energy is the larger business, with $31.7B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $30.7B for NRG Energy.
- NRG Energy grew revenue faster (9.2%, against 5.6%).
- Duke Energy kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (27.2% operating margin, against 6.0%).
- NRG Energy turned more of its sales into free cash flow (2.5% FCF margin, against −5.3%).
- NRG Energy earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (10.9%, against 5.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of NRG Energy’s earnings: a P/E of 24.6x against 19.1x for Duke Energy.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Duke Energy
DUK
2/10
Operating marginNet margin
NRG Energy
NRG
8/10
Revenue growth5-year growthFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | DUK FY25 | NRG FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $96.9B | $19.8B |
| Revenue | $31.7B | $30.7B |
| Free cash flow | −$1.7B | $766M |
| Net income | $5.0B | $864M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.6% | 9.2% |
| 5-year growth | 6.4% | 27.6% |
| Share count change | 0.7% | −6.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 27.2% | 6.0% |
| Net margin | 15.7% | 2.8% |
| FCF margin | −5.3% | 2.5% |
| Return on capital | 5.5% | 10.9% |
| Return on equity | 9.7% | 41.6% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $90.2B | $11.7B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 5.5x | 3.6x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.3B | $1.7B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 19.1x | 24.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.