Investors are upbeat about the expanding demand for nuclear power to cover electricity needs for AI data centers, driving Vistra (VST, Financial) and Constellation Energy (CEG, Financial) shares higher in mid-day trading Friday. Vistra rose 7% while Constellation gained 3.5%.
Thursday's Constellation Energy shares jumped 8.4% following the company's announcement of over $1 billion in arrangements with the General Services Administration of the federal government to provide nuclear energy to several agencies spread across five states. The movement persisted when the business announced that the U.S. Treasury Department changed its earlier decision permitting current nuclear facilities to qualify for federal tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Constellation revealed in September intentions to reactivate a Three Mile Island nuclear plant unit in Pennsylvania to provide electricity for Microsoft's (MSFT) data centers. Early October Constellation shares shot to an all-time high following that statement.
Over the past year, the stock has shown more than 110% bump. As demand for consistent, carbon-free energy keeps rising, Vistra shares—which also hit record highs in late 2024—have benefited from similar patterns. Both businesses are positioned to profit from the rising energy consumption of the market for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
