Compare StocksSO vs TSLA

The Southern Company (SO) vs Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)

SO
The Southern Company
$96.23
VS
TSLA
Tesla, Inc.
$380.30

Rewards

SO
  • Each dollar of retained earnings has created $5.15 of market value — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
TSLA
  • Each dollar of retained earnings has created $50.04 of market value — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • Altman Z-Score of 19.94 indicates very low bankruptcy risk — the company is firmly in the safe zone.
  • Net debt/EBITDA of -2.8x means the company holds more cash than debt — a net cash position.

Risks

SO
  • The Southern Company scores only 26/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
  • Net debt/EBITDA of 5.2x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
  • Altman Z-Score of 0.93 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
TSLA
  • ROIC has declined by 17.7 percentage points over the observed period, which may signal competitive erosion.
  • Gross margin of 18.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • Share count has increased by 19% over the past 4 years, diluting existing shareholders.

Key Valuation Metrics

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SO
TSLA
Valuation
$-3.46B
Free Cash Flow
$6.22B
-3.21%
FCF Yield
0.44%
24.55
Trailing P/E
358.77
19.59
Forward P/E
135.32
Quality & Moat
2.63%
ROIC
3.61%
11.17%
ROE
4.58%
48.47%
Gross Margin
18.03%
N/A
PEG Ratio
N/A
Balance Sheet Safety
1.91
Debt / Equity
0.18
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
5.20
Net Debt / EBITDA
-2.79
3.08%
Dividend Yield
N/A
SO: 4Ties: 1TSLA: 5
SOTSLA

Historical Fundamentals

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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.

TSLA

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

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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
TSLA
$50.04
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$25.92B
Δ Market Cap
+$1.30T
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

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SO
431.7% Overvalued
Price is 431.7% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $96.23
Fair Value: $18.10
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
TSLA
367.6% Overvalued
Price is 367.6% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $380.30
Fair Value: $81.33
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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SO

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

TSLA

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $380?

+49.4%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +41.8%

The market implies +49.4% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +41.8%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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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.
TSLA
31/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though revenue predictability 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 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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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.
TSLA
-2.86
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

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SO
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 72.8%Retail & Other 27.1%
No. of Institutional Holders2,723
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.
TSLA
Insiders 11.1%Institutions 44.6%Retail & Other 44.3%
No. of Institutional Holders5,299
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

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SO
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
TSLA
0
Buys (3M)
2
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.00B
MUSK ELON REEVE
Chief Executive Officer
$999.96M
@ $389.28 · 2025-09-12
GEBBIA JOSEPH
Director
$1.03M
@ $256.31 · 2025-04-24
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

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

Insider Selling Activity

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SO
1
Sells (3M)
6
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $4.80M
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
GREENE KIMBERLY S
Officer
$1.50M
@ $75.02 · 2024-05-02
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
TSLA
2
Sells (3M)
17
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $319.71M
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$899,077
@ $397.12 · 2026-03-06
WILSON - THOMPSON KATHLEEN
Director
$10.69M
@ $415.56 · 2026-02-25
MUSK KIMBAL J
Director
$25.61M
@ $450.66 · 2025-12-09
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.17M
@ $443.93 · 2025-12-08
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$918,137
@ $352.45 · 2025-09-08
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.77M
@ $295.26 · 2025-07-08
ZHU XIAOTONG
Officer
$4.86M
@ $323.81 · 2025-06-12
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$732,573
@ $285.71 · 2025-06-09
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.40M
@ $342.30 · 2025-06-03
EHRENPREIS IRA MATTHEW
Director
$170.64M
@ $357.30 · 2025-05-27
MUSK KIMBAL J
Director
$32.73M
@ $357.39 · 2025-05-27
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.05M
@ $350.11 · 2025-05-16
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.20M
@ $300.00 · 2025-05-09
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$30.81M
@ $274.12 · 2025-05-06
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.14M
@ $284.40 · 2025-05-01
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$32.10M
@ $285.58 · 2025-04-29
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.00M
@ $250.00 · 2025-04-07
MURDOCH JAMES RUPERT
Director
$13.19M
@ $240.79 · 2025-03-10
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$718,111
@ $268.75 · 2025-03-06
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$33.67M
@ $299.61 · 2025-03-03
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.78M
@ $296.02 · 2025-03-03
MUSK KIMBAL J
Director
$27.59M
@ $367.87 · 2025-02-06
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$43.16M
@ $384.04 · 2025-02-03
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.68M
@ $383.11 · 2025-02-03
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.89M
@ $413.56 · 2025-01-06
WILSON - THOMPSON KATHLEEN
Director
$41.16M
@ $411.63 · 2025-01-06
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$975,015
@ $374.29 · 2024-12-06
WILSON - THOMPSON KATHLEEN
Director
$35.25M
@ $352.54 · 2024-12-04
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$39.79M
@ $354.06 · 2024-12-02
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.48M
@ $354.43 · 2024-12-02
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$35.34M
@ $314.44 · 2024-11-15
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$3.80M
@ $316.91 · 2024-11-11
WILSON - THOMPSON KATHLEEN
Director
$34.60M
@ $346.02 · 2024-11-11
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.01M
@ $251.76 · 2024-11-01
MUSK KIMBAL J
Director
$15.14M
@ $250.23 · 2024-11-01
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.00M
@ $250.00 · 2024-10-24
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.00M
@ $250.00 · 2024-09-23
ZHU XIAOTONG
Officer
$65,867
@ $221.77 · 2024-09-06
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$14.60M
@ $219.96 · 2024-07-25
ZHU XIAOTONG
Officer
$113,151
@ $174.35 · 2024-06-06
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$17.32M
@ $184.86 · 2024-05-06
BAGLINO ANDREW D
Officer
$1.85M
@ $176.20 · 2024-04-01
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

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SO
FearGreed
😐Neutral(60/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

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.
TSLA
FearGreed
😐Neutral(47/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

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

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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: Neutral (60)
TSLA
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: Neutral (47)
View SO Full AnalysisView TSLA Full Analysis
The Southern Company (SO) vs Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) Stock Comparison | SafetyMargin.io