By Janet H. Cho
There's another side to the buildout of the nation's artificial intelligence apparatus, and that is the energy required to run the whole system. That should be the catalyst for stocks of power generators, according to Evercore ISI.
Shares of Constellation Energy, one of the largest U.S. electricity generators, were up nearly 5% in mid-day trading, and other power generator stocks were also moving higher.
Spending on AI infrastructure is "re-accelerating, not flattening," Evercore analysts said in a note. Company announcements are increasingly explicit about gigawatt-scale power commitments, underscoring the tech industry's need for data center backup power.
Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Alphabet, the four so-called hyperscalers spending all this money on building AI data centers, "validated many of the themes we have heard on the conference circuit over the past couple of months," Evercore Vice President of Equity Research Nicholas Amicucci wrote.
The first quarter AI investments of about $131 billion mentioned in their earnings reports on Wednesday "reinforce the demand setup for independent power producers" and dispatchable power solutions. "Power has become an explicit, contracted unit of demand," the analysts said.
Evercore cited nuclear power providers Constellation Energy, Talen Energy Corp., and Public Service Enterprise Group; gas-fired power producer NRG Energy, and power equipment manufacturers.
Shares of Talen Energy were up 4.9%; Public Service Enterprise Group was up 1.6%; and NRG Energy was up 3.1%.
"We continue to believe we are still in the early innings of both the power demand and AI-related infrastructure spending cycle," Evercore wrote, adding that many of the hyperscalers mentioned plan to increase capital spending in 2027 compared with already rising 2026 spending levels.
The analysts said they expect independent power producers will see longer-term power purchase agreements executed "in relatively short order to support this AI wave."
Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 30, 2026 14:33 ET (18:33 GMT)
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