In this article, we are going to discuss the 5 energy stocks billionaires are quietly piling into.
While the wider market is thriving and touching record highs at the moment, the overall energy sector seems to be lagging behind. As of the writing of this piece, the energy sector has declined by around 1% since the beginning of 2025, compared to gains of about 5.6% by the broader market.
A primary reason behind this lackluster performance is the sharp decline in global prices of crude oil this year. The West Texas Intermediate crude oil price is currently hovering just below the $66 per barrel mark, down by over 20% YoY. There are various factors that have contributed to this slump in prices, including increased supply, the prospects of an economic slowdown due to the trade war sparked by President Trump’s tariffs, and the overall global transition towards cleaner sources of energy.
That said, global crude oil prices shot up significantly in June during the Israel-Iran war, with the WTI crude closing just below the $74 mark on June 21, 2025. There were serious concerns about global supply chain disruptions during the conflict in anticipation of Iran’s potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas shipments. However, the situation has since de-escalated, and consequently, crude oil prices have declined again.
There are also discussions of peace deals between Russia-Ukraine and Iran-United States, which, if achieved, should also put downward pressure on crude prices, since Russia and Iran are both major oil producers. If these countries manage to strike a deal, they will have easier access to global markets and increase supply, which is expected to put further downward pressure on prices.
Thanks to the ongoing global transitions towards green energy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects global oil demand to peak and plateau by the end of the decade. The oil demand in China, the largest oil importer in the world, is expected to peak in 2027 – two years earlier than previously thought – amid ‘an extraordinary surge in EV sales, the continued deployment of trucks running on liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as strong growth in the country’s high-speed rail network, along with structural shifts in its economy.’
Moreover, the IEA expects the rising oil supply to outpace demand growth in the coming years, which should put further downward pressure on oil prices in the long run, considering we don’t witness any major supply chain disruptions in the coming years.
While the overall energy industry has been lagging behind, there are some sectors that seem bullish right now. One of them is natural gas. Natural gas prices are currently up 40% compared to last year, primarily due to an increase in domestic consumption and record exports, which are outpacing production.
A significant factor driving the sector’s growth is liquified natural gas. LNG trade is ballooning around the world, with the U.S. solidifying its position as the largest LNG exporter globally. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States exported 11.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of LNG in 2024, with a major chunk of this supply headed to Europe. These numbers are expected to pump even further, with some major LNG export terminals coming online in the country this year.
Natural gas has also emerged as a leading candidate to power the artificial intelligence boom and its accompanying data centers, since it is relatively clean, cheap, reliable, and abundant. According to energy consultancy Enverus, as many as 80 new gas-fired power plants are expected to be built in the U.S by 2030, adding 46 GW of capacity.
Another sector that has lately garnered a reinvigorated global spotlight is nuclear energy, as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expects the global nuclear capacity to expand by up to 2.5 times by 2050. The sector also received a massive boost in the U.S. recently, with President Trump signing an executive order to quadruple the country’s nuclear energy capacity and remove red tape. Moreover, nuclear has attracted significant attention from Big Tech, with several tech giants signing long-term contracts with nuclear energy providers to power their data centers.
With that said, here are the Best Energy Stocks According to Billionaires.
Methodology
To collect data for this article, we scanned Insider Monkey’s database of billionaires’ stock holdings and picked the top 5 companies operating in the energy sector with the highest number of billionaire investors in Q1 of 2025. The following are the Best Energy Stocks to Invest in According to Billionaires.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
5. Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)
Number of Billionaire Holders: 12
Headquartered in Texas, Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) is the largest producer of LNG in the United States and the second-largest LNG operator in the world. The company’s business model involves purchasing natural gas in the North American market and processing it into LNG for export to more than 40 markets across five continents.
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) is set to take full advantage of the ongoing boom in American LNG exports after President Trump lifted a moratorium on new LNG export permits back in January. The company remains strongly focused on expansion, and even last week, it approved the final investment decision for the expansion of its Corpus Christi LNG project. Cheniere plans to double its current production capacity and deploy more than $25 billion through 2030 toward growth, shareholder returns, and balance sheet management.
Cheniere managed to beat expectations in the first quarter of 2025, helped by rising prices for superchilled gas as demand increased. The stock also seems to be performing well, and as of the writing of this piece, Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has gained more than 36% over the last year.
Thanks to the ballooning global demand for American LNG, especially with several countries seeking to reduce their trade imbalances with the U.S. in order to avoid President Trump’s tariffs, Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) remains a favorite among billionaires. A major shareholder is John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, which held a stake worth $405 million in the company at the end of Q1 2025.
4. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)
Number of Billionaire Holders: 14
Next on our list of the Energy Stocks Billionaires are Investing in is Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), an independent exploration and production company with assets primarily in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. The company is a leading producer and one of the largest acreage holders in the Permian Basin, with assets concentrated in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) is known for having the backing of Warren Buffett himself. The Oracle of Omaha made a significant investment in the energy firm back in 2019 and has consistently increased his stake since then. As a result, Berkshire Hathaway now owns an approximate 28% stake in Occidental. However, despite such a large stake, Buffett has publicly stated that he does not intend to take a controlling interest in the company, but it only represents his long-term bet on the enduring importance of oil and gas.
That said, things haven’t been going fairly well for Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), and the company has witnessed a sharp decline in earnings and revenue over the last three years. At the time of writing this piece, the OXY stock is also down by more than 30% over the last year, mostly due to its high debt costs, environmental liabilities, and overall market volatility.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)’s debt problems have been a significant cause of concern for investors, especially after its $12 billion acquisition of CrownRock last year. However, the company is aggressively working to reduce its debt and revealed in its Q1 2025 earnings call that it has repaid $6.8 billion of debt since Q3 last year, exceeding its target and reducing interest expenses by $370 million.
Moreover, Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) is actively working to reduce well costs and improve efficiency. The company’s low-cost and long-life production assets in the U.S. will enable it to stay cash flow positive even with crude oil prices in the low $30s per barrel.
If you are curious about the current state of the global energy industry and its top performers according to billionaires, take a look at the complete video here.
3. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
Number of Billionaire Holders: 14
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) manufactures and sells a range of high-quality refined products, including gasoline, diesel, marine and aviation fuels, premium base oil, finished lubricants, and fuel oil additives.
An absolute behemoth of the global oil industry, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) boasts the lowest breakeven levels in the sector at around $30 per barrel, more than 50% below the recent price point. As a result, the company projects that its upstream business will contribute $10 billion in incremental free cash flow next year if Brent Crude averages $70 per barrel, or $9 billion at an average of $60 per barrel.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) also remains focused on capital discipline and reducing costs, given the current low-priced environment. The company is targeting $2 billion – $3 billion in structural cost savings by the end of 2026, and its CapEx budget for 2025 represents a $2 billion reduction from last year.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) also continues to expand aggressively. Although its planned $53 billion acquisition of Hess has been held up by a legal claim, the oil giant remains confident and even spent $2.2 billion to buy nearly 5% of the outstanding shares of Hess in the first quarter of 2025.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is known for its high payouts, having returned a record $27 billion in cash to its shareholders in 2024 and increased its quarterly dividend by 4.9% to $1.71 per share in January. The company has been increasing its annual dividends for an impressive 38 years, putting it among the 11 Best Dividend Aristocrat Stocks to Invest in Now.
However, the slumping crude oil price is beginning to take its toll, and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s CFO announced in the Q1 earnings call that the company’s stock buybacks this year could be between $11.5 billion and $13 billion, which would be in the lower end of its guidance of $10 billion to $20 billion.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) remains a favorite energy stock among billionaires, with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway also holding a stake worth almost $20 billion in the company at the end of Q1 2025.
2. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)
Number of Billionaire Holders: 15
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) is a leading American solar technology company and global provider of responsibly produced, eco-efficient solar modules. FSLR is the largest solar manufacturer in the U.S. and the entire Western Hemisphere.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) is unique among the ten largest solar manufacturers in the world for being the only US-based company and not manufacturing in China. The company has invested billions to expand its domestic manufacturing base and expects to reach over 14 GW of nameplate capacity in the U.S. by 2026. This strategic move has helped First Solar significantly during the recent global trade war and provides greater certainty of delivery and pricing compared to its peers.
Another factor that sets First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) apart from its competitors is its innovation-driven culture, and the company is known for manufacturing a proprietary, advanced thin-film module. Its solar panels are cost-effective, high-quality, and perform better than competing silicon modules in tough conditions, making them ideal for utility-scale solar energy projects. Moreover, being the only fully vertically integrated solar manufacturer in the country, First Solar can go from raw materials to finished product in less than four hours.
That said, First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), like the rest of its peers in the solar sector, is highly dependent on the clean energy tax credits from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. These subsidies represent a considerable chunk of the company’s income and have been a major driving factor behind its rapid growth. However, with the passage of President Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill, these credits will be phased out much sooner than expected, marking a significant headwind for First Solar and the rest of the industry in the coming years.
Despite the uncertainty, First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) has a number of billionaires piling into it. A major shareholder, D E Shaw, significantly increased his stake in the company to around $236.5 million at the end of Q1 2025.
1. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)
Number of Billionaire Holders: 16
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is one of the largest integrated fuels, lubricants, and chemical companies in the world. The company operates facilities and markets products around the globe and explores oil and natural gas on six continents.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s vast global scale, strong balance sheet, strict financial discipline, generous payouts, and aggressive growth make it the absolute favorite energy stock among billionaires. The oil and gas behemoth has increased its earnings at an annual rate of roughly 30% over the last five years, with its cash flow also rising at a CAGR of roughly 15% during the period. Exxon aims to continue this momentum, with a target to add a further $20 billion in earnings and $30 billion in cash flow by the end of the decade.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) also remains focused on reducing costs, especially given the current low-priced environment. Since 2019, the company has achieved $12.1 billion in structural cost savings, outperforming its industry peers while helping to mitigate inflationary pressures and expansion costs. Moreover, Exxon continues to invest in efficiency, with a goal of achieving a break-even of $35 per barrel by 2027 and $30 per barrel by 2030.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is known for its commitment to shareholders, having distributed more than $125 billion in dividends and buybacks over the last five years. The company has announced plans to repurchase $20 billion in shares annually through 2026 and has raised its payouts for 42 consecutive years, putting it among the Best Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires.
With 16 billionaire investors in the Insider Monkey database at the end of Q1 2025, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is the Top Energy Stock that Billionaires are Piling Into.
While we acknowledge the potential of XOM 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 XOM and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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