It's like AT&T but for electricity and natural gas in the Southeastern U.S.

Think of it as the Verizon of power, owning the infrastructure to deliver essential energy to homes and businesses.

Imagine Waste Management if it built power plants and electric grids instead of collecting trash, serving millions of customers.

• Electric Utility Services: Southern Company generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to retail and wholesale customers across the southeastern United States.
• Natural Gas Distribution: The company distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers primarily in Georgia, Illinois, and Virginia.

Southern Company (SO)

Major Customers

Southern Company, through its various operating subsidiaries such as Georgia Power, Alabama Power, Mississippi Power, and Southern Company Gas, primarily sells electricity and natural gas directly to a diverse base of end-users across its service territories. As a utility company, its customer base is broad and segmented rather than consisting of a few major corporate clients. Therefore, its customers are best described by the following categories:

• Residential Customers: This category includes individual households and families that use electricity and natural gas for their homes. These customers represent the largest segment by customer count for Southern Company's utility operations.
• Commercial Customers: This category encompasses a wide range of businesses, institutions, and government entities. Examples include retail stores, office buildings, restaurants, schools, hospitals, and other small to medium-sized enterprises that utilize utility services for their operational needs.
• Industrial Customers: This category includes large manufacturing facilities, heavy industries, and other large-scale enterprises that have significant energy demands for their production processes and operations. These customers often account for a substantial portion of a utility's energy sales due to their high consumption.

Chris Womack, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer

Chris Womack became Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Company in March 2023. He has been with Southern Company since 1988, holding various senior executive roles across the company and its subsidiaries. Prior to his current role, Womack served as chairman, president, and CEO of Georgia Power, Southern Company's largest subsidiary. He also held positions as executive vice president and president of external affairs for Southern Company. Before joining Southern Company, Womack worked on Capitol Hill for the U.S. House of Representatives. There is no information available indicating that he founded or managed other companies outside the Southern Company system, sold companies he was previously involved with, or has a pattern of managing private equity-backed companies.

David Poroch, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

David Poroch will assume the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Southern Company on July 31, 2025. Currently, he serves as Senior Vice President, Comptroller, and Chief Accounting Officer of Southern Company. Before joining Southern Company, Poroch was a partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he accumulated nearly two decades of experience in the utilities sector. He has held various financial and regulatory leadership positions across Southern Company's operating companies. There is no information available indicating that he founded or managed other companies, sold companies he was previously involved with, or has a pattern of managing private equity-backed companies.

Bryan Anderson, Executive Vice President and President of External Affairs

Bryan Anderson serves as the Executive Vice President and President of External Affairs for Southern Company. He joined the company in 2010. Prior to this role, he was the Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs at Southern Company, a position he held since November 2014.

Stan W. Connally, Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Stan W. Connally, Jr. is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Southern Company. He began his career with the company in 1989 as a co-op student at Georgia Power. He has held his current position since July 2012. Connally previously served as senior vice president and senior production officer for Georgia Power and was a plant manager at several facilities.

Sterling Spainhour, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Sterling Spainhour holds the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Southern Company. No further background information was found in the search results for this individual regarding past companies founded, managed, sold, or private equity involvement.

Southern Company (SO) faces several key risks inherent to the utility industry and its specific operational and regulatory environment.

1. Regulatory Risks: Southern Company operates in a highly regulated industry, making it susceptible to changes in federal, state, and local regulations, including those related to environmental standards, taxation, and rate-setting. Political shifts and regulatory decisions, particularly concerning acceptable profit margins or efforts to manage customer bills, could lead to less predictable outcomes and negatively impact the company's financial performance. For instance, recent concerns have been raised about potential changes in the Georgia Public Service Commission following upcoming elections, which could influence regulatory predictability.
2. High Debt Burden and Capital Expenditure/Construction Risks: The company carries a significant debt burden with associated interest payments. It also undertakes large construction projects, which inherently carry risks of budget overruns, delays, and impacts on free cash flow. Historically, projects like the Vogtle nuclear plant have experienced significant construction delays and increased costs. Southern Company's ambitious capital investment plan, focused on expanding capacity and modernizing the grid, particularly to meet demand from data centers, also presents execution risks, including potential cost overruns and delays that could jeopardize projected load growth.
3. Environmental Compliance and Climate Change Risks: Southern Company faces substantial costs related to complying with environmental laws and regulations concerning air, water, and waste. Future environmental regulations, especially those targeting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change, could further increase these costs. Achieving net-zero GHG emissions goals by 2050 depends on factors beyond the company's control, such as technological advancements and further regulatory changes.

The increasing adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as rooftop solar and battery storage by customers poses an emerging threat to Southern Company's traditional utility business model. As these technologies become more affordable and prevalent, customers can generate their own electricity and reduce reliance on the centralized grid, potentially leading to decreased sales volumes and challenges to the utility's long-standing revenue streams and infrastructure investments.

Southern Company (symbol: SO) primarily operates in the electricity and natural gas distribution markets in the United States.

Electricity Market

The addressable market for electricity in the U.S. was valued at approximately USD 363.6 billion in 2024. This market is projected to grow to USD 517 billion by 2032, demonstrating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5% between 2026 and 2032. Another estimate places the U.S. power market at USD 363.74 billion in 2024, expecting it to reach USD 543.35 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 4.56% from 2025 to 2033. The U.S. electricity sector generated $491 billion in revenue in 2023.

Natural Gas Distribution Market

The U.S. addressable market for natural gas distribution was valued at approximately USD 170.0 billion in 2024. It is anticipated to grow to USD 186.0 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 1.0% from 2025 to 2032. Other data indicates the U.S. natural gas distribution market was valued at $174.7 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $222.5 billion in 2025. Another report estimates the natural gas distribution market size in the U.S. at USD 219.94 billion in 2024, with a projection to reach USD 318.45 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 4.74% during 2026-2032.

Southern Company (SO) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through a combination of increased customer demand, strategic infrastructure investments, and favorable regulatory environments. Here are the key drivers:

1. Customer Growth and Increased Electricity Sales: Southern Company is experiencing growth in its customer base across both residential and commercial sectors. The company added approximately 12,000 new electric customers in Q3 2025, contributing to higher usage. Retail electricity sales are robust, with year-to-date weather-normal retail electricity sales up 1.8% compared to the first three quarters of 2024. This growth is observed across all three customer classes.
2. Surging Industrial and Commercial Demand, particularly from Data Centers: A significant driver of increased electricity usage comes from strong industrial demand and a notable rise in commercial sales. Data center power usage, in particular, was up 17% year-over-year in Q3 2025. The company has signed contracts with large load customers representing 7 gigawatts through 2029, ramping to 8 gigawatts into the 2030s, and a total pipeline of potential incremental load is over 50 gigawatts by the mid-2030s across its electric subsidiaries.
3. Strategic Capital Investments in Infrastructure and New Generation Resources: Southern Company has a substantial capital investment plan, which has been expanded to $76 billion through 2029 (from an earlier $63 billion). These investments are primarily directed towards state-regulated utilities (95% of the plan) and include significant upgrades to the transmission system, new generation resources (such as the completion of Vogtle Unit 4), and renewable energy projects. These infrastructure commitments are expected to drive long-term regulated earnings growth.
4. Constructive Regulatory Relationships and Rate Adjustments: The company's ability to achieve consistent revenue growth is supported by its robust regulatory relationships and the potential for favorable regulatory outcomes. Higher utility revenues, partially influenced by rate changes, were identified as an adjusted earnings driver in Q1 2025. This suggests that regulated rate adjustments will continue to contribute to revenue growth.

Share Repurchases

• Southern Company repurchased approximately $1.153 billion of convertible notes, including $674.4 million of Series 2023A and $342.0 million of Series 2024A, using proceeds from an equity units offering announced in November 2025.
• In 2024, the company repurchased $2,222 million of long-term debt and $1,020 million of short-term borrowings.

Share Issuance

• In November 2025, Southern Company announced a public offering to sell 35 million equity units at $50 per unit, aiming for an aggregate of $1.75 billion, with an option for underwriters to purchase an additional 5 million units ($250 million).
• Southern Company plans to address a $4 billion equity need through 2029, which includes $1.2 billion from hybrid securities, $1 billion from at-the-market (ATM) equity sales, and $1.8 billion from internal equity generation.
• The company's increased 5-year capital plan is projected to be funded with approximately 40% additional equity or equity equivalents, representing an incremental $5 billion through 2029, with $1.2 billion already secured via ATM programs.

Outbound Investments

• Southern Power completed or is in the process of adding new wind facilities and five battery storage projects.
• The company acquired or partnered with other entities for over 100 MW of energy storage and Bloom Energy Servers.
• Southern Power sold its remaining equity method investments in wind projects, receiving proceeds of $50 million in 2023 and $38 million in 2022.

Capital Expenditures

• Southern Company's capital expenditures averaged $8.216 billion from fiscal years ending December 2020 to 2024, with a median of $7.923 billion. In 2024, property additions totaled $8,955 million, and expected capital expenditures for 2025 are $14.8 billion.
• The company has significantly increased its capital expenditure plans, with a five-year program updated to $48 billion for 2024-2028, later surging to $76 billion for 2025-2029, representing a $13 billion increase from prior projections.
• The primary focus of these capital expenditures is on state-regulated generation and modernization projects (approximately $12 billion of the increase through 2029), including investments in new generation facilities (such as nuclear, renewable energy, and natural gas), environmental compliance, and the expansion and improvement of transmission and distribution infrastructure. Vogtle Unit 3 entered commercial operation in July 2023, and Unit 4 is expected to commence operations in the second quarter of 2024.