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Can DUK's Massive Clean Energy Investments Drive Long-Term Growth?
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Key Takeaways
DUK is investing heavily in renewables and grid upgrades to advance its decarbonization goals.
DUK plans $190-$200B over the next decade, with large commitments to clean energy projects.
DUK joined a $400M DOE initiative to accelerate SMR deployment using the BWRX-300 design.
Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) is investing heavily in renewable energy and modernizing its power grid, which strengthens its ability to meet long-term decarbonization goals while supporting new electricity demands. These upgrades make it easier to integrate more electric vehicles, connect additional clean-energy resources, and handle the rapidly growing power needs of artificial intelligence and data centers. Duke Energy benefits from increased demand for reliable, low-carbon electricity, creating new opportunities for growth and revenues.
Duke Energy is also actively investing in and supporting the development of Small Modular Reactors (“SMRs”) as part of its clean energy transition. Duke Energy joined a $400 million Department of Energy cost-share initiative to accelerate SMR deployment, supporting the GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 design.
The company plans to invest a massive $190-$200 billion over the next decade to meet customer needs, with a large share dedicated to clean energy projects such as renewables, grid modernization and decarbonization efforts. Within that total, it expects to spend $95-$105 billion from 2026 to 2030 alone.
So far, it has already invested $9.88 billion in the first nine months of 2025 and is on track to reach about $15 billion for the full year. These capital expenditures are intended to boost clean energy capacity, support increased electricity demand and enhance the system. Successful returns from these investments are expected to boost electric load growth for utility providers and the company’s bottom line.
Other Utilities' Focus on Strategic Investments
Other utilities that are also focused on expanding operations and meeting clean energy demands through strategic investments have been discussed below.
NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) plans to invest nearly $74 billion through 2029. NEE’s unit, Florida Power & Light Company, plans to invest nearly $43 billion during 2025-2029. Of this, it plans to invest nearly $18.5 billion in Transmission & Distribution projects during the same period.
Exelon Corporation (EXC - Free Report) plans to invest nearly $38 billion during 2025-2028. Of this, nearly $21.7 billion is for electric distribution and $12.6 billion for electric transmission. The systematic investments will support rate-based growth of almost 7.4% through 2028 from the 2024 base.
Estimates for DUK’s Earnings
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates an increase of 7.12% and 6.19%, respectively, year over year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
DUK Stock Trading at a Premium
DUK is trading at a premium relative to the industry, with a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 17.04X compared with the industry average of 14.75X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
DUK Stock Price Performance
In the past year, the company’s shares have risen 4.8% compared with the industry’s 18.5% growth.
Image: Bigstock
Can DUK's Massive Clean Energy Investments Drive Long-Term Growth?
Key Takeaways
Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) is investing heavily in renewable energy and modernizing its power grid, which strengthens its ability to meet long-term decarbonization goals while supporting new electricity demands. These upgrades make it easier to integrate more electric vehicles, connect additional clean-energy resources, and handle the rapidly growing power needs of artificial intelligence and data centers. Duke Energy benefits from increased demand for reliable, low-carbon electricity, creating new opportunities for growth and revenues.
Duke Energy is also actively investing in and supporting the development of Small Modular Reactors (“SMRs”) as part of its clean energy transition. Duke Energy joined a $400 million Department of Energy cost-share initiative to accelerate SMR deployment, supporting the GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 design.
The company plans to invest a massive $190-$200 billion over the next decade to meet customer needs, with a large share dedicated to clean energy projects such as renewables, grid modernization and decarbonization efforts. Within that total, it expects to spend $95-$105 billion from 2026 to 2030 alone.
So far, it has already invested $9.88 billion in the first nine months of 2025 and is on track to reach about $15 billion for the full year. These capital expenditures are intended to boost clean energy capacity, support increased electricity demand and enhance the system. Successful returns from these investments are expected to boost electric load growth for utility providers and the company’s bottom line.
Other Utilities' Focus on Strategic Investments
Other utilities that are also focused on expanding operations and meeting clean energy demands through strategic investments have been discussed below.
NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) plans to invest nearly $74 billion through 2029. NEE’s unit, Florida Power & Light Company, plans to invest nearly $43 billion during 2025-2029. Of this, it plans to invest nearly $18.5 billion in Transmission & Distribution projects during the same period.
Exelon Corporation (EXC - Free Report) plans to invest nearly $38 billion during 2025-2028. Of this, nearly $21.7 billion is for electric distribution and $12.6 billion for electric transmission. The systematic investments will support rate-based growth of almost 7.4% through 2028 from the 2024 base.
Estimates for DUK’s Earnings
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates an increase of 7.12% and 6.19%, respectively, year over year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
DUK Stock Trading at a Premium
DUK is trading at a premium relative to the industry, with a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 17.04X compared with the industry average of 14.75X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
DUK Stock Price Performance
In the past year, the company’s shares have risen 4.8% compared with the industry’s 18.5% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
DUK’s Zacks Rank
The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.