• Southern Company is like Con Edison (ED), but scaled up to serve millions of electricity and natural gas customers across multiple U.S. states.
• Think of it as a huge, diversified energy provider similar to NextEra Energy (NEE), but with a massive integrated natural gas distribution and pipeline business in addition to its electricity operations.

• Electricity Generation, Transmission, and Distribution: Provides electricity to retail and wholesale markets.
• Natural Gas Distribution: Delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
• Wholesale Gas Services: Provides natural gas to wholesale customers.
• Gas Marketing Services: Markets and sells natural gas products and services.
• Gas Pipeline Investments: Involves investment in and management of natural gas pipeline infrastructure.
• Digital Wireless Communications Services: Offers digital wireless communication solutions.
• Fiber Optics Services: Provides fiber optic infrastructure and related services.

The Southern Company (SO) primarily sells electricity and natural gas directly to end-users. Its major customer categories are:

• Residential customers
• Commercial customers
• Industrial customers

Christopher C. Womack, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer

Christopher C. Womack has over 35 years of experience in the U.S. energy sector. He has held various leadership positions within Southern Company, including senior vice president of Human Resources and chief people officer, and president of External Affairs. Prior to his current role, he served as chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power, Southern Company's largest subsidiary. Womack joined Southern Company in 1988. He also served as executive vice president of external affairs at Georgia Power, senior vice president and senior production officer of Southern Company Generation, senior vice president of human resources and chief people officer at Southern Company, and senior vice president of public relations and corporate services at Alabama Power. Before joining Southern Company, he worked on Capitol Hill for the U.S. House of Representatives.

David P. Poroch, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

David P. Poroch joined Southern Company in 2012. He previously served as senior vice president, comptroller and chief accounting officer of Southern Company. Prior to that, he held CFO positions at Georgia Power and Southern Company Gas. Before joining Southern Company, Poroch was a partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP, with nearly two decades of experience in the utility sector. He has also served as chief audit executive for Southern Company Services.

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

Stan W. Connally, Jr. served as chairman, president and CEO of former subsidiary Gulf Power from 2012 to 2018. He has held senior leadership roles at each of the system's regulated electric operating companies, including senior vice president and senior production officer for Georgia Power, where he was responsible for fossil and hydroelectric generation. He joined Southern Company in 1989 as a co-op engineering student at Plant Yates.

Sloane Drake, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Sloane Drake is the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Southern Company.

Sterling Spainhour, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer

Sterling Spainhour previously served as senior vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer for Georgia Power, and as senior vice president and general counsel of Southern Company Services. Before joining Southern Company, Spainhour was a partner at Jones Day, focusing on mergers, acquisitions and corporate governance, and served as counsel for CNN.

1. Regulatory and Policy Shifts Towards Decarbonization and Clean Energy Transition: As a utility with significant investments in fossil fuel generation (24 fossil fuel generating stations) and three nuclear generating stations, Southern Company is highly susceptible to changes in environmental regulations, carbon emission standards, and broader energy policies favoring decarbonization. Stricter mandates, carbon pricing, or accelerated shifts to renewable energy could render existing assets uneconomical prematurely, require substantial capital investment for compliance, or force costly operational changes. The transition to a cleaner energy grid, while an area of investment for the company, presents a continuous risk regarding the pace, cost, and technological challenges involved.
2. Large Capital Project Execution Risk: Southern Company's business involves developing, constructing, acquiring, owning, and managing power generation assets, including renewable energy projects. Large-scale construction and infrastructure projects in the utility sector are often complex, long-duration endeavors that are prone to cost overruns, schedule delays, and unforeseen technical challenges. Such issues can significantly impact the company's financial performance, regulatory cost recovery, and shareholder value, as evidenced by historical projects within the industry and for Southern Company specifically.
3. Impacts of Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events: The company operates extensive physical infrastructure, including 76,289 miles of natural gas pipelines, numerous power plants, and electricity transmission and distribution networks. This infrastructure is vulnerable to physical damage and operational disruptions caused by increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, severe storms, heatwaves, and wildfires, which are exacerbated by climate change. These events can lead to significant repair and restoration costs, prolonged service outages, increased operational expenses for emergency response, and potential liabilities, directly impacting financial performance and reliability.

Widespread adoption of distributed energy resources (such as rooftop solar, community microgrids, and battery storage) by residential, commercial, and industrial customers. This trend allows consumers to generate and store their own electricity, reducing their reliance on the traditional centralized grid for generation and potentially transmission services, thereby threatening the core revenue streams of a traditional utility like Southern Company.

Electricity Services

• Retail Electric Revenues: $18,877 million (U.S. Region: Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi)
• Wholesale Electric Revenues: $1,926 million (U.S. Region: primarily across the country, served by Southern Power)

Natural Gas Distribution Services

• Natural Gas Distribution Revenues: $3,815 million (U.S. Region: Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee)
• Other Natural Gas Revenues (including marketing services): $525 million (U.S. Region: Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, and other marketing service areas)

Southern Company (SO) is expected to experience future revenue growth over the next two to three years driven by several key factors:

1. Robust Electric Load Growth from Data Centers and Industrial Expansion: Southern Company anticipates significant growth in electric sales, particularly from the expansion of data centers and increased industrial development across its service territories in the Southeast. The company projects electric load growth of around 8% between 2025 and 2029, with retail electric sales growth of at least 3% in 2026 and a powerful 10% average annual retail electricity sales growth from 2026 to 2030. Georgia Power, a subsidiary, is specifically projected to see approximately 13% average annual growth in total retail electric sales over the same period, underscoring its central role in supplying power for the region's expanding economy and data center build-out.
2. Substantial Capital Investments in Regulated Utilities and Infrastructure Modernization: The company has outlined a significant multi-year capital investment plan, including an $81 billion base capital plan over the next five years, with approximately 95% allocated to state-regulated utilities. These investments target grid modernization, transmission system upgrades, and new generation facilities, which are expected to drive approximately 9% average annual regulated rate-base growth through 2030. This growth in the rate base forms a cornerstone of the company's financial outlook and supports its long-term growth plan.
3. Expansion of Renewable Energy and Battery Storage Systems: Southern Company is actively investing in and acquiring renewable assets, including major solar-plus-storage projects. The company's 2025 Integrated Resource Plan for Georgia Power also outlines plans to procure 4,000 MW of renewable energy by 2035, with 1,100 MW proposed in this plan, and to add over 1,500 MW of battery energy storage in the coming years. These initiatives contribute to revenue diversification and meet the evolving demand for cleaner energy solutions.
4. Customer Growth and Increased Usage in Electric and Gas Businesses: Beyond large industrial customers, Southern Company continues to experience growth in its residential electric and natural gas customer base, alongside increased usage. For instance, the company added 57,000 residential electric customers and 26,000 natural gas customers during 2024. In Q2 2025, retail electricity sales grew by 3%, with notable increases in residential and industrial sectors, and the company added over 15,000 new electric customers. This consistent customer acquisition and increased demand contribute to overall revenue growth.
5. Development of New Generation Facilities, Including Nuclear and Natural Gas: The completion of Vogtle Unit 4 in April 2024 added 2,200 MW of zero-carbon baseload power, significantly bolstering grid reliability and serving as a cornerstone of the company's decarbonization strategy. Furthermore, Southern Company is undertaking construction of 2.5 gigawatts of new generation in Georgia and Alabama, including natural gas and battery storage, scheduled to come online within two years. These new generation facilities expand capacity and contribute to the company's ability to meet growing energy demand and drive revenue.

Capital Allocation Decisions (Last 3-5 Years) for Southern Company (SO)

Share Repurchases

• Southern Company intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from a November 2025 equity units offering to repurchase a portion of its Series 2023A Convertible Senior Notes due December 15, 2025, and Series 2024A Convertible Senior Notes due June 15, 2027.
• As of December 31, 2025, Southern Company's quarterly stock buybacks reflected a value of -1.533 billion.
• The company's buyback yield stood at -0.64% as of March 2026.

Share Issuance

• In November 2025, Southern Company completed a public offering of 40,000,000 equity units, generating $2 billion in gross proceeds, which included the full exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option.
• This offering initially planned to sell 35 million equity units for an aggregate stated amount of $1.75 billion, with an option for underwriters to purchase an additional 5 million units ($250 million).
• As of August 2025, the company had also utilized $1.2 billion in at-the-market (ATM) equity issuances to support capital structure resilience.

Inbound Investments

• Southern Company and its subsidiaries secured a historic $26.5 billion loan package from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in February 2026, aimed at enhancing power generation and grid reliability.

Capital Expenditures

• Southern Company has increased its five-year capital spending plan to $81 billion for 2026-2030, marking an $18 billion or approximately 30% increase from its forecast just one year prior.
• This expanded capital plan is primarily driven by significant new growth infrastructure investments to meet surging electricity demand, particularly from hyperscale data centers and industrial customers across Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
• Approximately $42 billion of the $81 billion capital plan through 2030 is allocated to generation, modernization, and transmission projects, with 95% directed to state-regulated utilities.