The AES Corporation (AES) vs Avista Corporation (AVA)

The AES Corporation and Avista Corporation are both Utilities Diversified companies. The AES Corporation is the larger, with a market value of $10.6B against $2.9B — 3.6× the size. The AES Corporation trades at the lower P/E: 5.7× against 12.7×. The AES Corporation grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 8.49% against −1.84%. The AES Corporation has the higher net margin (14.3% vs 11.8%) and the lower return on invested capital (1.35% vs 3.72%). Both pay a dividend; Avista Corporation yields more (5.59% vs 4.20%). Across the 22 metrics below, Avista Corporation leads on 13 and The AES Corporation on 9.

Valuation

Metric AES AVA Utilities Diversified median
P/E 5.68 12.68 16.79
P/S 0.81 1.52 1.52
P/B 1.09 1.03 1.09
Price to free cash flow n/m n/m —
EV/EBITDA 16.23 9.57 9.57
EV/Sales 3.09 3.21 3.09
Earnings yield 17.62% 7.89% 5.97%
Free cash flow yield (16.22%) (3.57%) (7.56%)

Profitability

Metric AES AVA Utilities Diversified median
Gross margin 20.29% 100.00% 56.36%
Operating margin 6.53% 18.76% 18.94%
Net margin 14.34% 11.83% 11.83%
Free cash flow margin (13.18%) (5.42%) (7.63%)
Return on equity 21.45% 8.31% 8.31%
Return on assets 3.64% 2.73% 2.42%
Return on invested capital 1.35% 3.72% 3.72%

Growth

Metric AES AVA Utilities Diversified median
Revenue growth (TTM) 8.49% (1.84%) 8.49%
EPS growth (last fiscal year) (46.61%) 3.93% —
Revenue growth, 5-year CAGR 4.84% 8.24% 5.07%
Net income growth, 5-year CAGR 81.26% 8.31% 9.16%

Health

Metric AES AVA Utilities Diversified median
Debt to equity 3.29 1.16 1.16
Current ratio 0.75 1.10 0.89
Net debt to EBITDA 16.81 4.92 6.19

Dividend

Metric AES AVA Utilities Diversified median
Dividend yield 4.20% 5.59% 4.20%
Payout ratio 0.76 0.93 —

Size

Metric AES AVA Utilities Diversified median
Market cap 10.59b 2.94b 9.78b

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