Forget AI Stocks: This Energy Giant Could Be the Real Winner of 2026

The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is not just about high-tech chips. It's also deeply connected to energy. That's because the big technology companies and hyperscalers need massive data centers to provide the computing power for their advanced AI models. And those data centers require electricity -- lots of it.

According to data from the Pew Research Center, data centers consumed about 4% of America's total electricity in 2024. By 2030, demand from that segment is expected to grow by 133%.

As such, another way to invest in the expected growth of the AI industry is to use a pick-and-shovel investing strategy and buy shares of companies that provide key support to the tech players. And the energy sector could be the most powerful AI pick-and-shovel opportunity of all.

One appealing option in that category: energy equipment manufacturing and services company GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV). Formerly a unit of General Electric, this company has become one of the hottest stocks of the AI energy trade, up by 109% in the past year and by 470% since it was spun off from GE in 2024.

Here are a few reasons why GE Vernova could be one of the big winners of the AI trade in 2026.

More than 3x growth in data center orders

With a focus on electrification and reducing the carbon intensity of the world's energy systems, GE Vernova offers a broad range of products like natural gas turbines, wind turbines, and electrical grid solutions. But AI data centers are becoming a bigger part of the company's growth engine.

When the company reported its fourth-quarter 2025 results on Jan. 28, CEO Scott Strazik said that its electrification segment grew its total backlog by $11 billion year over year to $35 billion in the period. He also said that the company is "seeing demand across the segment for grid and data center equipment, both with traditional customers globally and hyperscalers, primarily in the U.S."

Strazik noted that the electrification business segment signed more than $2 billion of orders directly with data centers in 2025, more than three times its sales volume in that category for 2024.

Image source: Getty Images.

Skyrocketing growth

Providing power for AI data centers isn't the only growth story for GE Vernova. The company reported impressive fourth-quarter earnings, beating expectations by $10.17 per share.

Quarterly highlights included:

• Revenue of $11.0 billion, up 4% year over year.
• Net income of $3.7 billion.
• Net income margin of 33.5%.

For the year, GE Vernova's revenue rose 9% to $38.1 billion, with net income of $4.9 billion and a net income margin of 12.8%. The company returned $3.6 billion to shareholders in 2025, and ended it with a cash balance of $8.8 billion.

Not every AI stock is going to succeed over the long haul. But this AI power trade stock seems positioned for sustainable growth and profitability. Its price-to-earnings ratio is about 44, which might seem pricey compared to the earnings ratios of the Nasdaq-100 (33) and S&P 500 (28). But GE Vernova could still be a good buy-and-hold stock for investors who believe in the future of AI and renewable energy.

Ben Gran has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ge Vernova. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.