Compare StocksGOOGL vs SO

Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) vs The Southern Company (SO)

GOOGL
Alphabet Inc.
$385.69
VS
SO
The Southern Company
$96.71

Rewards

GOOGL
  • Alphabet Inc. has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
  • Gross margin of 60.4% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • Alphabet Inc. scores 89/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
SO
  • Each dollar of retained earnings has created $2.41 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.

Risks

GOOGL
  • FCF yield of 1.6% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.
SO
  • The Southern Company scores only 26/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
  • PEG ratio of 2.75 indicates the stock is expensive relative to its expected growth — the market may be pricing in more growth than analysts project.
  • Net debt/EBITDA of 5.4x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.

Key Valuation Metrics

Learn more →
GOOGL
SO
Valuation
$73.27B
Free Cash Flow
$-3.95B
1.57%
FCF Yield
-3.62%
29.42
Trailing P/E
24.73
27.06
Forward P/E
19.66
Quality & Moat
20.98%
ROIC
5.31%
27.61%
ROE
10.88%
60.37%
Gross Margin
48.00%
0.36
PEG Ratio
2.75
Balance Sheet Safety
0.20
Debt / Equity
1.90
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
-0.19
Net Debt / EBITDA
5.37
0.22%
Dividend Yield
3.14%
GOOGL: 8Ties: 1SO: 3
GOOGLSO

Historical Fundamentals

Learn more →
GOOGL

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

SO

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

Learn more →
GOOGL
$9.18
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$288.67B
Δ Market Cap
+$2.65T
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
SO
$5.15
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$3.71B
Δ Market Cap
+$19.12B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

Learn more →
GOOGL
241.8% Overvalued
Price is 241.8% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $385.69
Fair Value: $112.84
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
SO
487.9% Overvalued
Price is 487.9% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $96.71
Fair Value: $16.45
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

Learn more →
GOOGL

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $386?

+23.5%
Market-Implied FCF Growth Rate

Market pricing in significantly higher growth than history — aggressive.

SO

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

Economic Moat Score

Learn more →
GOOGL
89/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat driven primarily by roic consistency. Reinvestment Efficiency is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
SO
26/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though margin stability shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 5 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

Learn more →
GOOGL
-2.92
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
SO
-2.65
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

Learn more →
GOOGL
Insiders 0.6%Institutions 80.8%Retail & Other 18.6%
No. of Institutional Holders7,168
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
SO
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 72.0%Retail & Other 27.9%
No. of Institutional Holders2,771
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

Learn more →
GOOGL
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
SO
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

Learn more →
GOOGL
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
No open market insider sales found.
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
SO
4
Sells (3M)
8
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $7.93M
GREENE KIMBERLY S
Officer
$2.42M
@ $96.67 · 2026-03-30
CUMMISKEY CHRISTOPHER
Officer
$643,892
@ $96.55 · 2026-03-19
CONNALLY STANLEY W JR
Chief Operating Officer
$1.21M
@ $97.13 · 2026-03-18
KIM MATTHEW M.
Officer
$487,453
@ $95.15 · 2026-02-24
ANDERSON BRYAN D
Officer
$582,309
@ $93.83 · 2025-09-30
SPAINHOUR STERLING A. JR.
Officer
$226,148
@ $95.02 · 2025-08-11
GREENE KIMBERLY S
Officer
$1.25M
@ $95.00 · 2025-07-21
CUMMISKEY CHRISTOPHER
Officer
$1.10M
@ $89.54 · 2025-05-23
CONNALLY STANLEY W JR
Chief Operating Officer
$1.15M
@ $92.24 · 2025-03-31
GREENE KIMBERLY S
Chief Executive Officer
$3.00M
@ $93.12 · 2025-03-10
DAVIS MARTIN BERNARD
Chief Technology Officer
$100,811
@ $89.61 · 2025-03-03
WOMACK CHRISTOPHER C.
Chief Executive Officer
$2.20M
@ $90.13 · 2025-03-03
WOMACK CHRISTOPHER C.
Chief Executive Officer
$143,370
@ $90.00 · 2025-02-25
CUMMISKEY CHRISTOPHER
Officer
$81,184
@ $86.00 · 2025-02-19
PEOPLES JAMES JEFFREY
Chief Executive Officer
$1.25M
@ $86.00 · 2025-02-11
CUMMISKEY CHRISTOPHER
Officer
$69,739
@ $83.32 · 2025-02-04
DAVIS MARTIN BERNARD
Chief Technology Officer
$100,503
@ $85.90 · 2024-12-05
WOMACK CHRISTOPHER C.
Chief Executive Officer
$1.21M
@ $86.18 · 2024-12-05
SPAINHOUR STERLING A. JR.
Officer
$70,212
@ $88.54 · 2024-11-04
KERR JAMES Y. II
Chief Executive Officer
$2.69M
@ $89.64 · 2024-10-04
ANDERSON BRYAN D
Officer
$587,830
@ $89.54 · 2024-09-06
SPAINHOUR STERLING A. JR.
Officer
$211,796
@ $88.99 · 2024-08-05
WILSON ANTHONY L
Officer
$535,509
@ $77.61 · 2024-07-05
DRAKE SLOANE N
Officer
$931,320
@ $77.61 · 2024-07-03
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

Learn more →
GOOGL
FearGreed
😏Greed(73/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
SO
FearGreed
😏Greed(63/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

Learn more →
GOOGL
Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Greed (73)
SO
Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Greed (63)
View GOOGL Full AnalysisView SO Full Analysis
GOOGL vs SO: Which Is the Better Buy? | SafetyMargin.io