American Electric Power Company Inc vs Nasdaq Inc — how do they compare? American Electric Power Company Inc trades at $123.84 (market cap $67.28B), while Nasdaq Inc trades at $95.12 (market cap $53.11B). The key difference: American Electric Power Company Inc is the larger of the two by market cap, and American Electric Power Company Inc pays the higher dividend (3.07%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AEP | NDAQ | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $67.28B | $53.11B |
Sector | Utilities | Financials |
52-Week High | $138.69 | $100.98 |
52-Week Low | $106.44 | $76.85 |
Enterprise Value | $120.17B | $59.57B |
Dividend Yield | 3.07% | 1.22% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
AEP trades at $122.84, down 2.3% on the day, with a bearish technical signal. Recent Q2 2026 earnings missed estimates at $1.36 per share versus $1.48 expected, though revenue grew 7% year-over-year. The company raised full-year 2026 operating EPS guidance to $6.25–$6.55, supported by 69 GW of contracted load and a $78 billion capital plan. Analyst consensus remains strongly bullish with a $140.89 price target and no sell ratings.
The outlook is positive due to robust demand from data centers and infrastructure growth, but risks include high capital expenditures and interest expenses. Valuation metrics like a P/E of 21.42 are elevated, requiring sustained earnings growth to justify. The stock offers a stable dividend, with the next payment of $0.95 ex-dividend on August 10, 2026.
Nasdaq (NDAQ) trades at $95.62, up 1.09% today, with strong technical momentum and consistent earnings beats. Revenue grew to $8.26B in 2025, with net income margin expanding to 22.52%. The company announced the acquisition of LeveL Markets, advancing its always-on markets strategy, and maintains a bullish analyst consensus.
Outlook remains positive with a consensus price target of $109.20, offering ~14% upside. Risks include market volatility sensitivity and integration challenges from acquisitions. Solid profitability and strategic growth initiatives support a favorable investment case, though macroeconomic headwinds warrant monitoring.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
American Electric Power is one of the largest regulated utilities in the United States, providing electricity generation, transmission, and distribution to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. About 43% of AEP's of capacity is coal, with the remainder from a mix of natural gas (27%), renewable energy and hydro (19%), nuclear (7%), and demand response (4%). Vertically integrated utilities, transmission and distribution, and generation and marketing support earnings.
Read more on AEP →Founded in 1971, Nasdaq is primarily known for its equity exchange, but in addition to its market-services business (about 35% of sales), the company sells and distributes market data as well as offers Nasdaq-branded indexes to asset managers and investors through its information-services segment (30%). Nasdaq's corporate-services business (20%) offers listing services and related investor relations products to publicly traded companies and through the company's market technology group (15%), Nasdaq facilitates the exchange operations of other exchanges throughout the world and provides financial compliance services.
Read more on NDAQ →