PPL vs IDA Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
PPL (PPL Corporation) and IDA (IDACORP) are both mid-size regulated electric utilities but serving very different geographies and with different strategic dynamics — PPL is a multi-state utility serving Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Rhode Island with significant coal retirement capital requirements, while IDACORP's Idaho Power serves the rapidly growing Boise area with low-cost hydroelectric generation and exceptional customer growth. PPL offers multi-state diversification; IDACORP offers high-growth territory with unique hydro economics.
PPL vs IDA is diversified mid-size regulated utility rebuilding earnings post-restructuring (PPL's multi-state utility portfolio in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Rhode Island with coal transition capital investment and constructive regulation) versus high-growth hydroelectric utility serving one of the U.S.'s fastest-growing regions (IDACORP's Idaho Power benefiting from Boise's explosive population and semiconductor/data center growth with low-cost hydro generation creating competitive rate advantage) — diversification versus high-growth territory with unique hydro economics.
PPL holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. IDA has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+4.75% vs -6.30%), though PPL has the better forward P/E setup (16.15x vs 19.51x for IDA). IDA leads on both revenue growth (4.20%) and operating margin (27.46%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for PPL (+19.67%) than for IDA (+16.60%).
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 multi-state regulated utility with diversified regulatory exposure across Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Rhode Island providing geographic risk spreading
- Value PPL's transition from a UK utility to a focused U.S. regulated utility as creating a clean U.S. regulatory story without foreign exchange risk from international operations
- Prefer PPL's larger scale and multi-state portfolio versus IDACORP's single-state concentration while accepting the coal transition capital complexity in Kentucky
- Want a small regulated utility with exceptional customer and load growth exposure to Boise's technology and population-driven expansion — one of the U.S.'s fastest-growing utility service territories
- Value Idaho Power's low-cost hydroelectric generation as enabling competitive electricity rates that attract semiconductor manufacturing (Micron expansion) and data center customers to IDACORP's territory
- Accept hydroelectric drought risk and small utility scale as manageable risks for superior organic customer growth that larger utilities in slower-growing regions cannot replicate
| Metric | PPL | IDA |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 40.9 | 38.3 |
| AI ranki | #1092 | #1386 |
| Latest closei | $33.34 | $131.58 |
| 1M returni | -6.06% | -6.52% |
| 6M returni | -11.45% | -5.82% |
| 1Y returni | -6.30% | +4.75% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | PPL | IDA |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.37K (-6.3%) started 2025-09-18 | $10.48K (+4.8%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $15.08K (+50.8%) started 2021-09-20 | $12.7K (+27.0%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $22.45K (+124.5%) started 2016-09-19 | $16.79K (+67.9%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | PPL | IDA |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $25.74B | $7.85B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 20.24 | 22.50 |
| Forward P/Ei | 16.15 | 19.51 |
| Price/Salesi | 2.91 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 4.87 | 6.53 |
| Analyst targeti | $40.93 | $158.22 |
| Target upsidei | +19.67% | +16.60% |
| Metric | PPL | IDA |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 4.20% | 4.20% |
| Earnings growthi | 21.20% | 1.70% |
| EPS growthi | +21.20% | +1.70% |
| FCF margini | -20.63% | -67.74% |
| Operating margini | 23.59% | 27.46% |
| Profit margini | 13.47% | 18.78% |
| ROIC proxyi | 8.63% | 9.44% |
| Return on equityi | 8.63% | 9.44% |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.31% | 2.59% |
| Payout ratioi | 65.98% | 58.04% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | N/A |
| Betai | 0.59 | 0.47 |
| Debt/equityi | 135.43 | 105.98 |
| Current ratioi | 0.91 | 0.99 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.57 | 0.43 |
Over the past year, PPL and IDA have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.61), 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 | PPL | IDA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -6.30% | +4.75% |
| CAGRi | -6.30% | +4.76% | |
| Volatilityi | 17.98% | 17.63% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.52 | 0.10 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.71 | 0.14 | |
| Max drawdowni | 16.53% | 14.86% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.25% | 14.86% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.45% | 4.51% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.81% | 5.78% | |
| Max daily dropi | 3.16% | 3.75% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 8.24% | 5.08% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +32.09% | +27.01% |
| CAGRi | +5.73% | +4.90% | |
| Volatilityi | 18.90% | 19.37% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.15 | 0.11 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.21 | 0.16 | |
| Max drawdowni | 24.73% | 26.61% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.25% | 14.86% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.60% | 9.27% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.41% | 11.63% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.25% | 5.23% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.88% | 10.00% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +40.02% | +67.85% |
| CAGRi | +3.42% | +5.32% | |
| Volatilityi | 22.77% | 21.84% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.06 | 0.14 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.09 | 0.20 | |
| Max drawdowni | 48.73% | 34.36% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.25% | 14.86% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.08% | 8.94% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 14.68% | 11.52% | |
| Max daily dropi | 13.71% | 12.93% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 28.26% | 21.21% |
| Category | PPL | IDA |
|---|---|---|
| Company | PPL Corporation | IDACORP, Inc. |
| Sector | Utilities | Utilities |
| Industry | Utilities - Regulated Electric | Utilities - Regulated Electric |
| Core business | PPL Corporation is a regulated electric utility holding company — serving approximately 3.5 million electric customers through PPL Electric Utilities (Pennsylvania), Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities (LG&E/KU, Kentucky), and Rhode Island Energy (acquired from National Grid in 2022). PPL's utilities deliver electricity and, in Kentucky, natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across its service territories. | IDACORP is the holding company for Idaho Power Company — a regulated electric utility serving approximately 620,000 customers in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. Idaho Power generates approximately 50% of its electricity from hydroelectric dams on the Snake River system, making it one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the U.S. IDACORP's service territory in the Treasure Valley (Boise area) is one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S., driven by semiconductor manufacturing (Micron Technology HQ), data centers, and migration from higher-cost West Coast states. |
| Investor focus | Investors track PPL's regulated earnings growth across its three utility subsidiaries, capital investment program (grid modernization, clean energy transition), rate case outcomes in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Rhode Island, Rhode Island Energy integration, and PPL's earnings growth trajectory following its portfolio repositioning. | Investors track Idaho Power's customer growth (Boise metro area population growth is among the fastest in the U.S.), load growth from semiconductor manufacturing and data center customers, water availability affecting hydroelectric generation (drought affects hydro output), and revenue decoupling mechanisms that stabilize earnings in low-water years. |
- Multi-state regulated utility with diversified regulatory exposure — PPL operates across Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Rhode Island, spreading regulatory risk across three state commission jurisdictions with different characteristics
- Pennsylvania and Kentucky constructive regulatory environments — PPL Electric Utilities and LG&E/KU operate in states with generally constructive regulatory environments allowing timely capital recovery
- Rhode Island Energy expansion adds Northeast utility geography — the 2022 Rhode Island Energy acquisition (formerly National Grid's Rhode Island operations) added a regulated gas and electric utility in New England, diversifying PPL's Midwest/Southeast exposure
- Boise/Treasure Valley population and economic growth driving customer additions — IDACORP's service territory is experiencing rapid growth as Micron Technology (major Boise employer) expands and Idaho attracts businesses and residents from higher-cost states; customer additions and load growth provide organic revenue growth without rate increases
- Low-cost hydroelectric generation creates rate competitiveness — Idaho Power's hydro-heavy generation mix produces electricity at very low cost, enabling Idaho Power to offer competitive electricity rates; low rates attract energy-intensive customers (data centers, manufacturing) to Idaho Power's territory
- Revenue decoupling mechanism protects earnings from weather variability — Idaho regulators approved a revenue decoupling mechanism that adjusts revenues to authorized levels regardless of weather-driven hydro output or temperature effects on demand, stabilizing IDACORP's earnings
- Kentucky coal retirement transition — LG&E/KU's Kentucky utilities have significant coal generation to retire; managing the transition cost and securing regulatory approval for replacement generation investment is an ongoing process
- Rhode Island integration execution and rate case management — integrating Rhode Island Energy and managing Rhode Island PUC rate case outcomes requires execution under a new regulatory jurisdiction
- Earnings recovery from portfolio restructuring — PPL sold its UK Western Power Distribution utility in 2021 and acquired Rhode Island Energy; the transition created a period of earnings growth reset that PPL is now growing through
- Drought vulnerability of hydroelectric generation — Idaho Power's heavy reliance on Snake River hydro makes it vulnerable to drought years when river flows are reduced; in drought years, Idaho Power must purchase replacement power at market prices, raising costs and potentially requiring customer bill increases
- Rapid load growth requiring large capital investment — IDACORP's Boise area growth is creating significant demand for new transmission and distribution investment; capital spending is accelerating, requiring equity financing that dilutes shareholders
- Small utility scale limitations — IDACORP is a small utility ($1B+ market cap range); limited access to capital markets at advantaged terms and lack of diversification across multiple service territories limit financial flexibility versus larger utility peers
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