Southern Company management check
SO · Utilities · Electric Utilities · CEO Christopher C. Womack
Filings as of
3 good · 3 to watch · 1 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $171, against $153 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Flag
Does pay follow performance?
Pay moved against returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of -0.85 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.7% of net income$28.2m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $4.3bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 0.7 years of payThe CEO holds 216,863.25 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 0.7 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $871k sold in six months. 8 of 9 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +0.5% a year over the last three fiscal years.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Thomas A. Fanning, Christopher C. Womack. 11 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Utilities.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 65 | 53 | |
| Pay for performance | 7 | 81 | |
| CEO cost | 66 | 50 | |
| Skin in the game | 28 | 45 | |
| Dilution | 44 | 37 | |
| Stable leadership | 30 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Electric Utilities, by management score. Southern Company is 27th of 30 in its sector.
- 30CEGConstellation Energy84
- 62VSTVistra Corp.79
- 143EIXEdison International72
- 145PPLPPL Corporation72
- 252EVRGEvergy64
- 254PEGPublic Service Enterprise Group64
- 270ETREntergy63
- 285LNTAlliant Energy62
- 338EXCExelon59
- 354ESEversource Energy58
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 3, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Christopher C. Womack | $28.2m | $26.1m | $6.8m | $171 | $153 | $4.3bn |
| 2024 | Christopher C. Womack | $23.9m | $28.2m | $5.2m | $157 | $131 | $4.4bn |
| 2023 | Thomas A. Fanning, Christopher C. Womack | $33.5m | $40.6m | $5.6m | $129 | $108 | $4.0bn |
| 2022 | Thomas A. Fanning | $24.0m | $42.1m | $5.7m | $126 | $119 | $3.5bn |
| 2021 | Thomas A. Fanning | $21.2m | $35.5m | $5.2m | $116 | $118 | $2.4bn |
The board says pay is tied most to relative TSR. Its other key measures: 1-year Relative TSR, 3-year Relative TSR, Return on Equity (ROE), Earnings per Share (EPS).
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Christopher C Womack (Chairman, President & CEO) held 216,863.25 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on May 24, 2026, roughly $20.5m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $871k sold in six months. 8 of 9 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldPeter P Iii SenaChairman,President & CEO, SNC · 10b5-1 plan$378kSep 3, 2026
- SoldSterling A Jr. SpainhourEVP & CLO · 10b5-1 plan$313kAug 6, 2026
- SoldMatthew M. KimComptroller$179kOct 1, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Feb 17, 2026Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jul 23, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 18, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jul 11, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 27, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Feb 12, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 11, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Dec 10, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 13, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 6, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Dec 12, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 17, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 15, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $14.7bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 115% of net income, and $0 of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $23.1bn | $29.3bn | $25.3bn | $26.7bn | $29.6bn |
| Net income | — | — | $4.0bn | $4.4bn | $4.3bn |
| Stock-based pay | — | — | — | — | — |
| Buybacks | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends | $2.8bn | $2.9bn | $3.0bn | $3.0bn | $3.0bn |
| Diluted shares | 1068m | 1081m | 1098m | 1102m | 1109m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.