CWEN vs NEE Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Clearway is a smaller, higher-yielding renewable yieldco valued primarily on contracted cash flow and dividend growth, while NextEra is a large, diversified utility combining regulated earnings stability with the scale of the world's largest renewable energy developer. The choice generally comes down to preferring Clearway's higher current yield and pure renewable focus versus NextEra's diversification, scale, and long growth track record.
This comparison is best used to weigh a smaller, higher-yield renewable-focused yieldco against a large, diversified utility with a dominant renewable development platform and a longer record of steady growth.
CWEN holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CWEN leads on both 1-year return (-7.33%) and forward P/E quality (15.22x vs 18.65x for NEE), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, CWEN is growing revenue faster (22.70%), while NEE maintains the higher operating margin (31.52%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CWEN (+38.45%) than for NEE (+20.22%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want a higher current dividend yield from contracted renewable assets
- Are comfortable with growth dependent on sponsor drop-down acquisitions
- Prefer pure-play renewable and contracted generation exposure
- Accept smaller scale and less diversification than a major utility
- Want diversified exposure combining a regulated utility with renewable development
- Value a long, consistent track record of dividend growth
- Prefer larger scale and lower single-asset concentration risk
- Are comfortable with heavy capital spending needs across both business segments
| Metric | CWEN | NEE |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 38.1 | 50.1 |
| AI ranki | #1280 | #473 |
| Latest closei | $29.96 | $78.96 |
| 1M returni | +0.10% | -2.60% |
| 3M returni | -11.28% | -11.63% |
| 6M returni | -25.14% | -14.02% |
| 1Y returni | -7.33% | -7.96% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | CWEN | NEE |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.3K (-7.0%) started 2025-10-16 | $9.28K (-7.2%) started 2025-10-16 |
| 5Y ago | $9.59K (-4.1%) started 2021-10-18 | $11.72K (+17.2%) started 2021-10-18 |
| 10Y ago | $19.45K (+94.5%) started 2016-10-17 | $39.77K (+297.7%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | CWEN | NEE |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $7.75B | $170.72B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 36.53 | 18.39 |
| Forward P/Ei | 15.22 | 18.65 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 5.88 |
| EV/Revenuei | 10.92 | 10.07 |
| Analyst targeti | $43.50 | $98.39 |
| Target upsidei | +38.45% | +20.22% |
| Metric | CWEN | NEE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 22.70% | 12.40% |
| Earnings growthi | 296.60% | 53.10% |
| EPS growthi | +296.60% | +53.10% |
| FCF margini | +26.79% | -61.91% |
| Operating margini | 25.16% | 31.52% |
| Profit margini | 6.42% | 32.40% |
| ROIC proxyi | -3.17% | 11.68% |
| Return on equityi | -3.17% | 11.68% |
| Dividend yieldi | 5.89% | 3.05% |
| Payout ratioi | 237.17% | 53.47% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.88 | 0.65 |
| Debt/equityi | 176.90 | 161.68 |
| Current ratioi | 1.21 | 0.53 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.66 | 0.35 |
Over the past year, CWEN and NEE have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.43), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | CWEN | NEE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -7.04% | -7.16% |
| CAGRi | -7.05% | -7.17% | |
| Volatilityi | 30.29% | 20.60% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.24 | -0.48 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.34 | -0.66 | |
| Max drawdowni | 29.37% | 22.87% | |
| Current drawdowni | 27.39% | 19.33% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 10.26% | 7.64% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.74% | 9.79% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.67% | 4.63% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 11.07% | 6.96% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -4.07% | +6.70% |
| CAGRi | -0.83% | +1.31% | |
| Volatilityi | 30.81% | 26.82% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.02 | 0.02 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.03 | 0.02 | |
| Max drawdowni | 54.91% | 44.97% | |
| Current drawdowni | 28.00% | 19.33% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 24.77% | 14.97% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 27.82% | 17.80% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.83% | 8.97% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 17.33% | 22.71% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +94.55% | +214.57% |
| CAGRi | +6.88% | +12.15% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.40% | 25.43% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.23 | 0.40 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.32 | 0.57 | |
| Max drawdowni | 54.91% | 44.97% | |
| Current drawdowni | 28.00% | 19.33% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.60% | 9.55% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 21.87% | 13.44% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.12% | 13.42% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.67% | 24.36% |
| Category | CWEN | NEE |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Clearway Energy | NextEra Energy |
| Sector | Utilities | Utilities |
| Industry | Utilities - Renewable | Utilities - Regulated Electric |
| Core business | Clearway Energy owns and operates a portfolio of wind, solar, and natural gas generation assets, structured as a yieldco that distributes cash flow to shareholders. | NextEra Energy operates Florida Power & Light, a large regulated utility, alongside NextEra Energy Resources, one of the world's largest generators of wind and solar power. |
| Investor focus | Investors focus on Clearway's dividend growth rate, contracted cash flow visibility from long-term power purchase agreements, and its ability to fund growth through drop-down acquisitions from its sponsor. | Investors track NextEra's regulated utility earnings growth, the scale of its renewable development pipeline, and its long-term EPS growth guidance. |
- High proportion of revenue under long-term contracted power purchase agreements
- Attractive dividend yield with a stated growth target
- Access to a development pipeline through its sponsor relationship
- Combination of stable regulated utility earnings and renewable growth platform
- One of the largest renewable energy developers globally
- Long track record of consistent dividend growth
- Growth depends heavily on external capital and sponsor drop-downs
- Interest rate sensitivity given yieldco capital structure
- Smaller scale and less diversification than major regulated utilities
- Large capital spending needs to fund both utility and renewable growth
- Interest rate sensitivity typical of capital-intensive utilities
- Regulatory and political risk around renewable incentives and rate cases
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