We are entering the final innings of the 2025 financial year, and the U.S. stock market continues to defy bearish expectations. Nearly all 11 major sectors remain in positive territory; gold is surging, the dollar is sliding, and Bitcoin has roared back, even as job losses mount and the government remains partially shut down. Much of this resilience has been fueled by the ongoing AI-driven investment boom, which continues to reshape capital flows across industries from semiconductors to energy infrastructure.
Yet the Energy sector has lagged. With a 4.5 % year-to-date gain, the third lowest among the major sectors, it trails the S&P 500’s 14.2 % advance. Oil and gas producers have faced a barrage of challenges: softer commodity prices, rising drilling costs, OPEC+ unwinding output cuts, a slowing economy, and elevated tariffs. At the same time, higher interest rates have made financing both conventional and renewable projects more expensive, further weighing on margins.
Below the surface, however, a more nuanced transformation is underway. A rebound in clean energy has seen the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN) rise nearly 40 % this year, with demand tied to AI data centers and electrification is driving new investing patterns. Solar stocks are also benefiting, bolstered by policy support and tax incentives preserved (in part) under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). One recent Oilprice article warns that OBBBA “gutted key tax incentives for clean energy projects” and warns the bill’s impact on solar could worsen over time.
The U.S. Senate’s July passage of OBBBA without last-minute excise taxes on solar that some lawmakers had proposed also helped stabilize investor sentiment in domestic solar and storage. The removal of those tariffs lent clearer direction to the U.S. clean energy supply chain and gave developers greater confidence in the viability of long-term projects.
This shared agenda of capital rotating toward electrification, AI-driven power demand, and policy stability is creating room for a diverse set of energy names to outperform. These winners are not all pure-play renewables. They include integrated power operators, utilities reinventing themselves, and grid-tech enablers. Below are five off-the-radar energy stocks quietly outperforming their peers.
5 Under-the-Radar Energy Beneficiaries
Market Cap: $2.20B
YTD Returns: 161.4%
Israel-based smart energy SolarEdge (NASDAQ: SEDG) has been one of the best performers in the solar sector, alongside the broader Israeli stock market, with SEDG up in the triple digits thanks to the company’s improving business fundamentals.
SolarEdge returned yet another healthy quarterly scorecard on Tuesday, with second quarter revenue of $289.4M (+9.0% Y/Y) beating the Wall Street consensus by $14.91 million, while non-GAAP EPS of -$0.81 beat by $0.03.
According to SolarEdge CEO Yehoshua Nir, Trump’s OBBBA “validates our multiyear strategy of onshoring manufacturing to the U.S. by preserving the 45X advanced manufacturing credit for the next 7 years. We intend to manufacture in the U.S. and to ship U.S.-made SolarEdge products both domestically and across the globe for years to come.”
SolarEdge’s gross margins continued to improve, increasing 310 basis points sequentially to 11.1%. The company reported that the ongoing supply chain optimizations will cut gross margins by ~ 2%, down from a previous forecast of 4% to 6%. SolarEdge also issued upbeat guidance, with third quarter revenue in the range of $315 million to $355 million, representing 28.4% Y/Y growth at the midpoint while non-GAAP gross margin is expected to be 15% -19%, including the 2% of new tariff impact.
Market Cap: $165.0B
YTD Returns: 83.7%
GE Vernova (NYSE:GE) is one of the youngest energy companies, having been spun off by industrial giant General Electric (NYSE:GE) in 2024. GE Vernova is a global energy company that develops and provides products and services for generating, transmitting, and orchestrating electricity. With a market cap roughly half that of its parent company, GE Vernova is one of the largest renewable energy companies, with its GE Renewable Energy division offering a broad portfolio of wind, hydro, storage, and solar technologies.
GEV shares have increased more than five-fold from their IPO price, thanks to rising global demand for the company’s services, strong backlog growth and multiple tailwinds from electrification and decarbonization. However, the wild runup has lately attracted some downgrades from Wall Street, with RBC Capital recently trimming GEV price target from $631, with the bank saying the company’s strong outlook is already reflected in the valuation.
Constellation Energy Corp.
Market Cap: $113.8B
YTD Returns: 60.1%
Constellation Energy Corp. (NYSE:CEG) produces and sells energy, including electricity and natural gas, along with sustainable energy solutions to commercial, industrial, residential, and public sector customers. The company operates a diverse portfolio of generation assets, including nuclear, wind, solar, natural gas, and hydroelectric power, with a total capacity of approximately 31,676 megawatts.
CEG shares have been on a tear after the company unveiled an agreement in June to sell more than 1,100 MW of nuclear power to Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) from its Illinois nuclear plant for 20 years. According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal is the first deal of its kind for an operating nuclear plant in the United States, and closely mirrors a similar deal Constellation signed with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) last year. The Microsoft deal is a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) that will see Constellation Energy restart its undamaged reactor in Three Mile Island, which was undergoing decommissioning.
Neither deal will draw power from the main grid. However, Meta appears to have secured a better deal, with Citi’s Ryan Levine estimating that the 20-year PPA is priced in the $70-$95/MWh range, considerably cheaper than Jefferies’ estimate of at least $110/MWh for Microsoft’s PPA, because Meta’s deal “…does not offer a substantial premium for low-carbon nuclear power”. Levine has projected that ~70% of Constellation’s existing nuclear plants could secure comparable datacenter deals at ~$80/MWh.
Market Cap: $67.9B
YTD Returns: 44.8%
Irving, Texas-based Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is an integrated power generation company that generates and sells power to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across the United States. The company operates a diverse portfolio of power generation facilities, including natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage, and serves customers through retail brands like TXU Energy and Ambit Energy.
VST shares have easily outpaced their energy brethren thanks to the company recording increased power demand from AI data centers and strong results from recent PJM capacity auctions, which are creating a favorable market environment for Vistra’s generation and retail operations. Vistra’s diversified fleet, strategic positioning in the nuclear power sector through the Harbor Energy acquisition, and focus on long-term growth and customer-tailored solutions also contribute to investor confidence.
Market Cap: $10.3B
YTD Returns: 12.7%
The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) is a Virginia-based power generation and utility company that operates in the United States and internationally. AES is actively transforming into a leader in renewable energy, focusing on solar, wind, and energy storage solutions to accelerate a greener energy future.
AES shares have been rallying following a report by the Financial Times that BlackRock’s (NYSE:BLK) Global Infrastructure Partners plans to acquire the utility company soon, in what would be one of the largest infrastructure takeovers on record. The deal would value AES at ~$38 billion, AES’ $29 billion in debt. Global Infrastructure Partners, which BlackRock acquired a year ago, has a history of utility mergers, including a $6.2 billion deal that took public utility company Allete private.
By Alex Kimani for Oiprice.com
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