AES Value Stock - Dividend - Research Selection

Incorporated in 1981, AES is a diversified power generation and utility company, providing affordable, sustainable energy through our diverse portfolio of thermal and renewable generation facilities as well as distribution businesses. Our vision is to be the world's leading sustainable power company by leveraging our unique electricity platforms and the knowledge of our people to provide the energy and infrastructure solutions our customers truly need. Our people share a passion to help meet the world's current and increasing energy needs, while providing communities and countries the opportunity for economic growth due to the availability of reliable, affordable electric power.

Future growth across our company will be heavily weighted towards less carbon-intensive wind, solar and gas generation. Growth in renewables not only provides an opportunity for direct investments in wind and solar generation, but also presents significant potential for energy storage. We are a leader in lithium ion, battery-based energy storage, with more than 400 MW in operation, under construction or in advanced development across seven countries. We believe lithium ion-based energy storage will play a critical role in an increasingly renewables-based generation mix. With our technological experience, presence in key markets and channel sales partnerships, we are positioned to capitalize on this rapidly growing market.

Additionally, we have been expanding our LNG infrastructure in Central America, where we are helping to displace oil-fired generation in favor of a cheaper and cleaner alternative. In the United States, at IPL, we recently completed a multi-year rate-base investment in environmental upgrades to our coal plants and are in the process of re-powering several units from coal to gas.

Segments

We are organized into six market-oriented strategic business units ("SBUs"): US (United States), Andes (Chile, Colombia, and Argentina), Brazil, MCAC (Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean), Europe, and Asia — which are led by our SBU Presidents. Within our six SBUs, we have two lines of business. The first business line is generation, where we own and/or operate power plants to generate and sell power to customers, such as utilities, industrial users, and other intermediaries. The second business line is utilities, where we own and/or operate utilities to generate or purchase, distribute, transmit and sell electricity to end-user customers in the residential, commercial, industrial and governmental sectors within a defined service area. In certain circumstances, our utilities also generate and sell electricity on the wholesale market.

The Company measures the operating performance of its SBUs using Adjusted PTC and Proportional Free Cash Flow, both of which are non-GAAP measures. The Adjusted PTC and Proportional Free Cash Flow by SBU for the year ended December 31, 2016 are shown below. The percentages for Adjusted PTC and Proportional Free Cash Flow are the contribution by each SBU to the gross metric, i.e., the total Adjusted PTC by SBU, before deductions for Corporate. See Item 7.—Management's Discussion and Analysis SBU Performance Analysis of this Form 10-K for reconciliation and definitions of Adjusted PTC and Proportional Free Cash Flow.