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Best AI Stocks to Buy in Q4: GE Vernova and Energy Stocks?

Key Takeaways

  • Wall Street views GE Vernova as one of the most surefire investments in the AI age.
  • Its growth outlook is strong across nuclear, SMRs, natural gas, grid expansion, and more.
  • GEV stock climbed 130% in the past year, beating Nvidia's 45%, and it might be ready to break out.

Large artificial intelligence data centers consume as much electricity as a mid-sized city. This is a huge reason why next-gen energy stock GE Vernova (GEV - Free Report)  soared 330% since its April 2024 IPO, crushing Nvidia and many other AI tech stocks on its way to becoming a $165 billion market cap next-gen energy powerhouse.

The AI future that the hyperscalers such as Amazon and Meta are betting on is impossible without spending hundreds of billions, if not trillions of dollars, expanding energy generation and the grid over the coming decades.

Wall Street views GE Vernova as one of the most surefire investments across the broader AI trade since it will thrive no matter which hyperscalers win the AI arms race.

GEV is also the opposite of speculative, especially compared to the likes of pure-play next-gen nuclear stock Oklo, which is a pre-revenue home-run bet.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

GE Vernova provides investors with a potent mix of huge upside potential, given its leading role in small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) and stability.

The GE spinoff boasts that its customers generate approximately 25% of the world's electricity through its installed base of technologies across natural gas, hydro power, nuclear, wind, and beyond.

GE Vernova’s improving financial position helped it commit to stock buybacks and dividends. “We are at the beginning of an investment supercycle into more reliable baseload power, grid infrastructure and decarbonization solutions,” CEO Scott Strazik said following its strong Q2 results.

The AI energy stock is attempting to hold its ground at a key technical level to start the fourth quarter. GEV could break out in October and Q4 after trading sideways since the end of July. The nuclear energy stock also appears far less overheated than the likes of Oklo and others.

Are Energy and Nuclear Stocks the Best AI Investments?

This brief AI energy overview section helps investors quickly understand why they should consider buying GEV stock and other standouts across nuclear, natural gas, electrification, and energy infrastructure as long-term investments in AI.

Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT use 10X the energy of an average Google search, while large data centers consume as much electricity as a mid-sized city. AI growth, alongside reshoring and the energy transition, are expected to drive a 25% increase in U.S. electricity demand by 2030 and a 75% increase by 2050.

AI hyperscalers are projected to spend approximately $400 billion in capex in 2025 alone, with global data center infrastructure spending expected to reach $7 trillion by 2030. 

The U.S. government aims to quadruple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 by cutting red tape, boosting tax incentives, partnering with innovators in the space, and more. The other pillar of the bullish bet on nuclear and next-gen energy growth is the fact that Meta, Microsoft, and all the other AI hyperscalers have made significant long-term nuclear power deals and are actively supporting SMR development to power their data centers and the economy.

Meta (META - Free Report)  and its peers are also racing to secure natural gas contracts, given its reliability and standing in the U.S. economy. The grid must expand significantly to support all of the energy capacity growth. 

No one knows what the best profitable AI applications will be 10 years from now, or which big tech companies or startups will eventually dominate the nascent AI economy. 

Wall Street is sure that the best-in-class energy companies fueling the AI boom, which are already generating real profits and sales, are going to be long-term AI winners. 

Buy GEV Stock Now and Hold Forever

GE Vernova provides exposure to nuclear energy, next-gen SMRs, electrification, natural gas, and the broader artificial intelligence infrastructure spending boom. GEV boasts that its customers generate roughly 25% of global electricity via its installed base of technologies.

The company has provided nuclear turbine technologies and services for all reactor types for decades. GEV’s Hitachi Nuclear Energy division is a leading provider of advanced nuclear reactors, fuel, and nuclear services.

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Even though SMR companies NuScale and Oklo (OKLO - Free Report)  have skyrocketed, GE Vernova’s BWRX-300 SMRs have a chance to be one of only a handful of potential big winners in the future of small-scale nuclear reactors. GE Vernova is working directly with power companies in the U.S. and Canada to deploy its next-gen nuclear tech by the early 2030s.

GEV is also a natural gas giant. The company signed 9 gigawatts of new gas equipment contracts during the second quarter, boosting its backlog to 29 GW.

On top of that, its power conversion, energy storage, and grid solutions are gaining momentum. GE Vernova announced in late July plans to acquire AI software firm Alteia to boost its AI-enabled GridOS visual intelligence software that it sells to utilities and beyond.

GE Vernova’s earnings revisions have climbed over the last year and over the past 90 days. Some recent downward earnings estimate revisions help GEV land a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). But its Most Accurate estimates came in above consensus and it has crushed our EPS estimates in three out of the past four quarters.

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The AI energy giant is projected to expand its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) by 37% in FY25 and 70% in FY26 to reach $12.97 a share vs. $5.58 in 2024. Meanwhile, it is expected to expand its revenue by 7% this year and 11% next year to $41 billion.

GEV soared 130% in the past year, beating Nvidia’s (NVDA - Free Report)  45%, Meta’s  22%, and many other tech and AI standouts. This is part of a 330% run since its April 2024 IPO to easily beat Nvidia’s 110%. The stock trades 12% below its average Zacks price target and roughly 10% below its early August records.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

GEV stock is trying to hold its ground at its July breakout levels while hovering just below its 50-day moving average.

Its recent sideways movement helped GE Vernova cool off from overbought RSI levels in July to roughly neutral. This backdrop could set GEV stock up for a break out in the fourth quarter.

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