Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data centers have become a booming industry now. The AI infrastructure space remains rock solid supported by an extremely bullish demand scenario. Research firm McKinsey & Co. estimated that global AI-powered data center infrastructure capex will reach around $7 trillion by 2030.

The energy-hungry AI space has made nuclear energy one of the hottest industries on Wall Street over the past year. Nuclear energy is increasingly recognized as a key solution to meeting rising global electricity demand and shifting toward cleaner energy sources.

To strengthen the nation’s nuclear sector, President Donald Trump has issued four executive orders aimed at modernizing regulatory frameworks, expediting reactor testing and approvals, leveraging nuclear technology for national security, and expanding the domestic nuclear industrial base. These measures target an increase in U.S. nuclear capacity from about 100 gigawatts (GW) in 2024 to 400 GW by 2050.

The galloping requirement of electricity for data centers, significantly boosted the demand for those electric utilities that have access to nuclear power. Here we recommend five nuclear power stocks to buy for the long term.

These stocks are: Dominion Energy Inc. (D Quick QuoteD - Free Report) , Duke Energy Corp. (DUK Quick QuoteDUK - Free Report) , Ameren Corp. (AEE Quick QuoteAEE - Free Report) , Entergy Corp. (ETR Quick QuoteETR - Free Report) and PG&E Corp. (PCG Quick QuotePCG - Free Report) . Each of our picks currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the past three months.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Dominion Energy Inc.

Dominion Energy’s long-term investment will strengthen its electric and natural gas infrastructure and increase the reliability of its services. D is adding renewable assets in its generation portfolio to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. 

Rising demand from an expanding customer base and large data centers is increasing the requirement for its services and boosting the performance of the company. D is working on a Small Modular Reactor (SMR), which can create new opportunities.

Dominion and its subsidiaries sell a substantial volume of energy produced under long-term power purchase agreements, which provide earnings visibility. D signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Amazon to explore innovative development structures for enhancing potential SMR nuclear development in Virginia.

Dominion Energy has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 7.6% and 22.7%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.3% over the past 30 days. 

Duke Energy Corp.

Duke Energy remains a premier utility service provider that actively pursues nuclear energy expansion as part of its long-term clean energy strategy. During 2025-2029, DUK aims to invest $87 billion to strengthen its grid and expand its renewable energy portfolio. 

DUK provides retail electric service through the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to approximately 8.4 million customers within the Southeast and Midwest regions of the United States. DUK relies principally on natural gas, nuclear fuel and coal for its generation of electricity. 

DUK currently operates 1,500 MW of solar energy in Florida (as of July 2025). It successfully added 300 MW of solar capacity during 2024. DUK has also been making strong progress in reducing carbon emissions from electricity generation.

Duke Energy has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 4.6% and 7.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.2% over the past 30 days. 

Ameren Corp.

Ameren has been making systematic investments in infrastructural upgrades to improve its customer reliability. AEE aims to spend up to $26.3 billion during the 2025-2029 period to strengthen its existing operations. AEE aims to add 3,200 MW of renewables to its generation portfolio by 2030.

Ameren has been investing steadily to offer electricity through cleaner and more diverse sources of energy generation, such as solar, wind, natural gas, hydro and nuclear power. Apart from investing in renewable projects, AEE is also closing its coal-fired plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and promote green energy. 

AEE targets to expand its renewable portfolio by adding 3,200 MW of renewable generation (including 400 MW of solar generation projects) by 2030 and an additional 1,500 MW by 2035. It also aims to add 1,000 MW of battery storage (including the 400-MW Big Hollow Battery Energy Storage Project) by the end of 2030 and an additional 800 MW by 2042. AEE also aims to add 1,500 MW of nuclear generation by 2040. 

Ameren has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 16.2% and 7.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.4% over the past 30 days.

Entergy Corp.

Entergy plans to invest $40 billion during 2025-2028 to upgrade its infrastructure and support renewable expansion. ETR is also investing significantly in grid hardening to make its transmission and distribution systems more resilient. Returns from these investments should enable Entergy to duly achieve an earnings CAGR of more than 8% over the 2025-2028 period. 

Entergy is also expanding its nuclear generation capacity. The company owns and operates a fleet of five reactors in four locations in the Southern United States that generate 27% of its power from nuclear sources. Impressively, Entergy’s fleet of nuclear plants prevents the emission of nearly 23 million metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly.

ETR aims to add 275 MW of nuclear power through upgrades in its existing nuclear plants, to further expand its nuclear capacity. To this end, it is imperative to mention that ETR has also secured an early site permit for a new nuclear reactor at its Grand Gulf site in Mississippi. These initiatives should further strengthen the company’s position in the nuclear energy generation market.

Entergy has expected revenue and earnings growth rates of 5.4% and 6.9%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.3% over the past seven days.

PG&E Corp.

PG&E is engaged in the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers in northern and central California. PCG generates electricity using nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired, fuel cell, and photovoltaic sources. PCG serves residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers, as well as natural gas-fired electric generation facilities.

PCG currently operates California’s only operating nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon. Notably, in November 2024, PCG announced that it had begun deploying Atomic Canyon’s AI-powered Neutron Enterprise solution at its Diablo Canyon Power Plant—the first on-site generative AI deployment at a U.S. nuclear facility. 

Built on NVIDIA’s full-stack AI platform, this technology streamlines document retrieval from hours to seconds, enhancing operational efficiency, compliance, and safety. As energy demand in California rises, this upgrade will support Diablo Canyon’s role as a key clean energy provider. With AI integration boosting productivity and regulatory compliance, this initiative will strengthen PCG’s position in the nuclear sector’s digital transformation and expansion, meeting rising energy needs with smarter, faster and safer operations.

PG&E has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 6.7% and 10.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.1% in the past 90 days.