GE Vernova Preferred Over American Electric Power for 2026 Amid Data Center Boom

Industry
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Summary · why it matters

A Motley Fool analysis concludes GE Vernova is the better buy over American Electric Power in 2026, driven by massive demand from the artificial intelligence data center boom. American Electric Power, the largest U.S. electric transmission operator serving 5.6 million customers, reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $21.8 billion and net income of $3.6 billion, with a forward P/E of 20.3 times. GE Vernova, whose equipment helps generate about 25% of the world's electricity, posted fiscal 2025 revenue of nearly $38.1 billion and net income of about $4.9 billion, with a forward P/E of 32.1 times. The analysis highlights GE Vernova's record first-quarter fiscal 2026 free cash flow of $4.8 billion and a backlog expected to reach $200 billion by 2027, arguing its structural growth tailwinds outpace the regulated utility's steady expansion.

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Energy Transition & Power Demand± Mixed · 2 stocks
GE Vernova LLC
GEV
▲ PositiveDemandrelevance

Analysis highlights GE Vernova's structural growth from AI data center demand, record FCF, and growing backlog.

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