Southern Company (SO)

Operating return on assets (Operating ROA)

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Operating income (ttm)	US$ in thousands	5,825,000	4,756,000	4,839,000	5,204,000	5,370,000	4,901,000	4,431,000	3,484,000	3,698,000	4,758,000	4,870,000	5,220,000	4,885,000	4,846,000	5,024,000	5,308,000	7,736,000	7,624,000	7,785,000	6,506,000
Total assets	US$ in thousands	139,331,000	138,321,000	137,116,000	134,756,000	134,891,000	134,005,000	130,769,000	128,639,000	127,534,000	127,861,000	125,907,000	125,393,000	122,935,000	123,158,000	119,731,000	118,852,000	118,700,000	117,591,000	114,867,000	114,096,000
Operating ROA		4.18%	3.44%	3.53%	3.86%	3.98%	3.66%	3.39%	2.71%	2.90%	3.72%	3.87%	4.16%	3.97%	3.93%	4.20%	4.47%	6.52%	6.48%	6.78%	5.70%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Operating ROA = Operating income (ttm) ÷ Total assets
= $5,825,000K ÷ $139,331,000K
= 4.18%

Operating return on assets (ROA) measures a company's ability to generate operating income from its assets. Southern Company's operating ROA over the past eight quarters has varied, ranging from 3.76% to 4.32%. The trend indicates a relatively stable performance, with quarterly fluctuations around the 4% mark. However, there was a slight decline in Q3 2023, dropping to 3.85% from the previous quarter's 4.13%. Overall, Southern Company's operating ROA seems to be in line with its historical performance, reflecting a consistent utilization of its assets to generate operating income.