A GE spinoff's stock is surging as it positions itself as the 'supermarket' for AI energy demand

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The massive demand for energy as Big Tech races to build its AI infrastructure has been a tailwind for GE Vernova (GEV), the power equipment maker that spun out of iconic GE earlier this year.

Shares of the Cambridge, Mass.-based company have been hovering near all-time highs, along with the broader S&P 500 Industrial ETF (XLI), as investors look to play off the electrification and artificial intelligence theme led by AI chip heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA).

"[Vernova] seems to be caught up in the broader trade of AI and power demand," Daniel Rich, analyst at CFRA, told Yahoo Finance. The firm has a Buy rating and a price target of $230 on the stock.

Much of Wall Street's bullishness stems from expectations of power demand growth stemming from Big Tech's commitment to record infrastructure technology investments.

Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Meta (META) are expected to spend a combined $200 billion this year on cloud and AI investments, including building and maintaining data centers.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) · (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Power demand from infrastructure technologies in the US is expected to more than double by 2030 thanks to use of AI, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

"Because of how much more power we're going to need —if the projections are accurate to power data centers — to power AI applications, Vernova is definitely a winner," he added.

One Wall Street analyst dubbed the $72 billion company the "supermarket" for the electric power industry — from natural gas turbines used to generate electricity to servicing of power plants, modernizing electric grids, and building wind turbines.

"This company does everything," Raymond James managing director Pavel Molchanov told Yahoo Finance in an interview this week.

"Because the buildout of electric power infrastructure is an all-of-the-above story, that means all of these solutions are going to be needed," he added.

The analyst notes Vernova's reach is global, with roughly 30% of its revenue stemming from the US. Some of its big competitors, like Siemens Energy, Schneider Electric, and ABB, are based abroad.

Vernova expects to deliver 70 to 80 heavy-duty gas turbines per year in 2026, up from roughly 55 for the last few years. Servicing those units is also expected to grow substantially.

"We're seeing increasing demand for power generation, driven by manufacturing growth, industrial electrification, EVs, and emerging data center needs," Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said during the company's latest earnings call over the summer.