American Electric Power vs Vistra
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put American Electric Power and Vistra side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- American Electric Power is the larger business, with $21.9B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $17.7B for Vistra.
- American Electric Power grew revenue faster (10.9%, against 3.0%).
- American Electric Power kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (24.3% operating margin, against 10.8%).
- Vistra turned more of its sales into free cash flow (7.4% FCF margin, against −6.9%).
- Vistra earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (7.2%, against 6.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Vistra’s earnings: a P/E of 23.9x against 19.1x for American Electric Power.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
American Electric Power
AEP
4/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginPiotroski F-score
Vistra
VST
6/10
5-year growthFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | AEP FY25 | VST FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $70.7B | $48.1B |
| Revenue | $21.9B | $17.7B |
| Free cash flow | −$1.5B | $1.3B |
| Net income | $3.7B | $944M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 10.9% | 3.0% |
| 5-year growth | 8.0% | 9.2% |
| Share count change | 1.2% | −2.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 24.3% | 10.8% |
| Net margin | 16.9% | 5.3% |
| FCF margin | −6.9% | 7.4% |
| Return on capital | 6.7% | 7.2% |
| Return on equity | 12.7% | 17.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $48.6B | $18.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 5.6x | 4.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $2.0B | $1.3B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 19.1x | 23.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 4 |
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.