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The AES Corporation (AES)

Utilities Dividend payerS&P 500

The AES Corporation is a global power company that generates and distributes electricity, increasingly shifting its focus toward renewable energy sources.

$14.79

Is The AES Corporation a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Provides an essential service that people need regardless of the economy. Worth weighing: Utility companies often carry significant debt to fund infrastructure.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price-11.5%
= past earnings-report date
Priced in USD. As a UK investor your £ return also moves with the pound-to-dollar exchange rate, even inside an ISA - a stronger pound can trim your £ gains and a weaker pound can add to them, whatever the share price itself does.
52-week range+12% past year
$14.79
Low $12.33High $17.65
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.

Is this normal for this company?

Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.

Price to earnings
5.2now
5.16.5

Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.

Net profit margin
12.4%now
-3.3%19.1%

Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.

How these ranges are built

Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.

What does The AES Corporation do?

AES operates power plants and utility networks across several countries, making money by selling electricity to homes and businesses. They are currently in the middle of a major transition, moving away from traditional fossil fuels to build out large-scale wind, solar, and battery storage projects. How well they manage the high costs of building this new green infrastructure while keeping their existing power grid running smoothly will decide much here.

On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and income, and weakest on quality.

Quick checks
What's strong
  • Value screens high
  • Growth screens high
  • Income screens high
What to watch
  • Quality screens low

Does The AES Corporation pay a dividend?

Yes - The AES Corporation currently pays a dividend of about 4.8% a year, which is £48 a year for every £1,000 invested (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it. An ISA doesn't shelter the US tax on this one →

What do the numbers say about The AES Corporation's dividend?

There's no rating here, and we don't judge whether the dividend will continue - that would be advice. Here are the figures income investors usually look at, and what each one means, so you can weigh it up yourself.

Dividend yield4.8%£48 a year for every £1,000 invested. The yearly dividend as a percentage of today's price. A very high figure often means the price has fallen because the market expects a cut, so a big yield is a question to look into, not a prize.
Payout ratio26%about 26 in every 100 pounds of profit. The share of profit paid out as dividends. A lower figure leaves headroom; near or above 100% means most or all of the profit is going out as dividends.
Dividend cover3.8×Profit divided by the dividend (the payout ratio the other way up). As a rough convention many income investors like around 2× or more; below 1× means the company paid out more than it earned that year.

Figures are from the latest available data and can be distorted by one-off results. Past payments don't predict future ones, and a dividend can be cut at any time. This lays out the numbers to help you understand them - it is not a view on what will happen.

Most recent ex-dividend date: 31 Jul 2026. To receive a dividend you must already own the shares before the ex-dividend date; become a holder on or after it and the previous owner keeps that payment. Why the price usually falls that morning →

Does The AES Corporation have more cash or more debt?

It holds about $1.85B in cash against about $32.94B of debt - so it has net debt of about $31.09B. Debt is not automatically a problem - it funds growth - but it has to be serviced and repaid, which matters more when profits wobble.

From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.

What do The AES Corporation's numbers mean?

P/E
5.51
This shows you are paying roughly £7.70 for every £1 of the company's recent annual profit.
Lower than most of the 40 Utilities shares we cover
Dividend yield
4.8%
This is the annual cash payout to shareholders as a percentage of the current share price.
Higher than most of the 42 Utilities shares we cover
Beta
0.9
This suggests the share price tends to move slightly less than the wider stock market, making it a bit more stable.
Revenue growth
19.9%
This indicates the company's total sales increased by nearly 9% compared to the same time last year.
Higher than most of the 40 Utilities shares we cover

How has it performed?

Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
If you had put $1,000 into The AES Corporation
$885-11%

Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

How much has The AES Corporation actually fallen?

−52%

Over the last 2 years of daily prices, The AES Corporation fell as much as −52% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.

Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.

How has it done year by year?

2022+22%
2023-31%
2024-30%
2025+18%
2026 so far+6%

Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.

A closer look at the numbers

Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
$10.48B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
8.51M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
$14.78 – $14.83
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
$12.33 – $17.65
P/E ratio: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth.
5.5
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
4.8%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
0.95

Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?

One share costs$14.79
Number of shares709 million
So the whole company is worth$10.48bn
A £5 share is not cheaper than a £500 one - it means the company cut itself into more slices. Whether the total looks high or low is what the figures below are for; we don't give a verdict.

Who owns The AES Corporation?

Big institutions 88%Company insiders 1%Public & smaller investors 12%

About 88% of The AES Corporation, or about 88 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds, and company insiders hold about 1%. The rest, roughly 12%, is held by the public and smaller investors.

What this does and doesn't tell you

This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.

How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 0.95
Calm
Wild
Roughly in step with the market

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▼ -1% past week · ▲ +12% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

How much money does The AES Corporation make?

Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.

RevenueNet income
$0$855.50M$1.71B$2.57B$3.42BQ2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26Q2 26
Gross margin
20.3%
Net margin
14.3%
Return on equity
9.6%

Where does each £100 of The AES Corporation's sales go?

Making the product or service £80Running costs, tax and interest £6Left as profit £14

A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £80 covers making the product or service, £6 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £14 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.

When does The AES Corporation report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?

The AES Corporation is next scheduled to report on about 2026-11-04 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.

‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.

The AES Corporation: reported versus expected earnings per share, recent quarters
ReportedExpected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number.Actual EPSvs expected
2026-05-05$0.37$0.77Beat +108%
2026-03-02$0.61$0.81Beat +33%
2025-11-04$0.77$0.75Missed -2%
2025-07-31$0.40$0.51Beat +29%
2025-05-01$0.33$0.27Missed -18%
2025-02-28$0.35$0.54Beat +56%

Across the last 6 quarters here, The AES Corporation came in ahead of what analysts expected 4 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.

See who else reports over the next two weeks →

Where these figures come from

Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.

What are the scenarios for The AES Corporation?

An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.

◀ lowerhigher ▶todayBull▲ UpsideBase• In-lineBear▼ Downside
Bull
+5% to +10%Stronger than expected demand for electricity during peak seasons.
Base
-2% to +2%Steady operations with no major weather-related disruptions.
Bear
-5% to -10%Unexpected maintenance costs at older power plants.

What are the pros, cons and common questions?

The case each way, and the questions people ask
The bull case

AES becomes a leader in global clean energy storage.

The bear case

High debt levels become difficult to manage during a long-term economic downturn.

What are the pros and cons of The AES Corporation?

3bull points
6bear points

A balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • Provides an essential service that people need regardless of the economy
  • Attractive dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone. for those looking for regular income
  • Clear strategy to pivot toward renewable energy and battery storage
The catch3
  • Utility companies often carry significant debt to fund infrastructure
  • The transition to green energy is expensive and complex
  • Profit margins can be squeezed by rising operational costs
Key risks3
  • Regulatory changes in the various countries where they operate
  • Extreme weather events damaging power infrastructure
  • High interest rates making it more expensive to borrow money for new projects
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

  • A sudden reversal in the company's commitment to renewable energy
  • A major, long-term decline in global electricity demand

Common questions about The AES Corporation

Does The AES Corporation pay a dividend?

Yes - The AES Corporation currently pays a dividend of about 4.8% a year. Dividends are a share of profit paid to holders; the yield moves with the price and payouts can be cut.

When does The AES Corporation report earnings next?

The AES Corporation is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-11-04. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.

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Confidence: medium · data: USD · flags: earnings_growth · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Prices as of 11 Sep 2026; other figures as of 11 Aug 2026. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.