33 Most Important AI Companies You Should Pay Attention To

4. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79  

YTD Return as of August 1: 141%

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. As the demand for AI increases, the power needed to keep AI data centers running has led to a surge in demand for electricity, benefiting the stocks of power firms like Vistra. The demand for power is so significant that hyperscalers are building their AI data centers near Vistra power plants. The total energy share of data centers in the overall power grid is expected to increase from 3% to around 10% in the coming years. Nuclear energy, one of the core assets of Vistra, is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of this as tech giants look to relatively cleaner sources of power than fossil fuels for their AI transformation.

Jim Burke, the CEO of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST), said during the first quarter earnings call that in addition to the 35 gigawatt of additional power demand by 2030 due to data center linked activities, there were multiple other growth drivers for the firm, including continued reshoring of industrial activity, as evidenced by multiple large chip manufacturing site build outs, as well as increased electrification of commercial industrial and residential loads, and strong population growth.