Southern Company (SO) — Cash Flow Quality Index
Southern Company (SO) has a Cash Flow Quality Index of 2.21x as of September 2025. Operating cash flow of $3.77 Billion exceeds net income of $1.71 Billion, indicating high earnings quality where cash backs reported profits. Explore SO debt coverage from operations to assess how comfortably operating cash covers total debt obligations.
Cash Flow Quality Index
Operating Cash Flow
Net Income
Data as of
Southern Company Cash Flow Quality Index (1994–2024)
Historical Cash Flow Quality Index for Southern Company across 31 annual periods. Values consistently above 1.0x indicate high-quality earnings. For the full cash flow conversion analysis, see Southern Company cash conversion from operations.
Annual Cash Flow Quality Index for Southern Company (1994–2024)
Year-by-year earnings quality comparison for Southern Company.
| Year | Quality Index | Operating CF (USD) | Net Income | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2.30x | $9.79 Billion | $4.26 Billion | ▲ +21.0% |
| 2023 | 1.90x | $7.55 Billion | $3.98 Billion | ▲ +3.3% |
| 2022 | 1.84x | $6.30 Billion | $3.43 Billion | ▼ -31.2% |
| 2021 | 2.67x | $6.17 Billion | $2.31 Billion | ▲ +23.8% |
| 2020 | 2.16x | $6.70 Billion | $3.10 Billion | ▲ +77.1% |
| 2019 | 1.22x | $5.78 Billion | $4.74 Billion | ▼ -59.6% |
| 2018 | 3.02x | $6.95 Billion | $2.30 Billion | ▼ -56.3% |
| 2017 | 6.91x | $6.39 Billion | $926.00 Million | ▲ +256.9% |
| 2016 | 1.94x | $4.89 Billion | $2.53 Billion | ▼ -24.9% |
| 2015 | 2.58x | $6.27 Billion | $2.44 Billion | ▼ -10.0% |
| 2014 | 2.86x | $5.82 Billion | $2.03 Billion | ▼ -19.7% |
| 2013 | 3.57x | $6.10 Billion | $1.71 Billion | ▲ +75.8% |
| 2012 | 2.03x | $4.90 Billion | $2.42 Billion | ▼ -22.1% |
| 2011 | 2.60x | $5.90 Billion | $2.27 Billion | ▲ +33.0% |
| 2010 | 1.96x | $3.99 Billion | $2.04 Billion | ▲ +2.4% |
| 2009 | 1.91x | $3.26 Billion | $1.71 Billion | ▼ -2.1% |
| 2008 | 1.95x | $3.40 Billion | $1.74 Billion | ▼ -0.4% |
| 2007 | 1.96x | $3.40 Billion | $1.73 Billion | ▲ +9.2% |
| 2006 | 1.79x | $2.82 Billion | $1.57 Billion | ▲ +12.7% |
| 2005 | 1.59x | $2.53 Billion | $1.59 Billion | ▼ -9.5% |
| 2004 | 1.76x | $2.69 Billion | $1.53 Billion | ▼ -15.5% |
| 2003 | 2.08x | $3.07 Billion | $1.47 Billion | ▼ -3.2% |
| 2002 | 2.15x | $2.83 Billion | $1.32 Billion | ▲ +13.7% |
| 2001 | 1.89x | $2.38 Billion | $1.26 Billion | ▼ -12.0% |
| 2000 | 2.15x | $2.82 Billion | $1.31 Billion | ▲ +0.6% |
| 1999 | 2.13x | $2.72 Billion | $1.28 Billion | ▼ -24.1% |
| 1998 | 2.81x | $2.75 Billion | $977.00 Million | ▲ +4.1% |
| 1997 | 2.70x | $2.62 Billion | $972.00 Million | ▲ +26.8% |
| 1996 | 2.13x | $2.40 Billion | $1.13 Billion | ▲ +1.5% |
| 1995 | 2.10x | $2.31 Billion | $1.10 Billion | ▼ -1.7% |
| 1994 | 2.13x | $2.11 Billion | $989.00 Million | — |