Is Vistra Corp. (VST) a Good Nuclear Energy Stock to Buy Now?

A leading Fortune 500 integrated retail electricity and power generation company, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is the largest competitive power producer in the US with a capacity of approximately 41,000 MW.

Is Vistra Corp. (VST) a Good Nuclear Energy Stock to Buy Now?

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The share price of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has surged by almost 24% over the last month. Despite beating adjusted EPS estimates in its Q1 2025 results announced earlier in May, the company reported a net loss of $268 million. However, the stock recently received a boost after President Trump signed an executive order to jumpstart America’s nuclear sector and quadruple the country’s nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The order intends to cut down on regulations and fast-track new licenses for reactors and power plants. This presents a significant opportunity for Vistra, as the company makes efforts to cement its place in the nuclear renaissance and expand its capacity. The utility firm made headlines in March when it acquired Energy Harbor, adding 4 GW of nuclear generation capacity to its portfolio and making it the owner of the second-largest competitive nuclear fleet in the US.

Additionally, to make sure it steps up to fulfill the record increase in American electricity demand amidst the ongoing AI boom, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) recently announced that it is expanding its footprint with the acquisition of seven power plants spread across the country from Lotus Infrastructure Partners for $1.9 billion. The deal will add over 2.5 GW of capacity to Vistra’s portfolio and is expected to close sometime in late 2025 or early 2026.

Sound Shore Management stated the following regarding Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“Finally, a strong contributor that we have discussed in past letters, power producer Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) continued its upward trajectory from last year into the first quarter. A long-term holding, Vistra is a low-cost provider with increasingly important carbon-free nuclear facilities to power data centers. We had been trimming our position as the stock approached our price target and sold the last of our holding early in the quarter.”

While we acknowledge the potential of VST to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VST and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None.