$D Surges 12% as NextEra's $67B Power Grab Makes 'Data Center Alley' the Hottest Real Estate in America
Bond yields above 5%, oil past $100, and a record utility merger — the market is having a moment and we need to talk about it
Ticker Ratings
$D (Dominion Energy) had its best day since 2020 — surging up to 12% — after $NEE (NextEra Energy) announced a $67 billion all-stock acquisition, the largest utility deal in history. The catalyst? Virginia's 'Data Center Alley' is running out of electrons. AI infrastructure demand is so overwhelming that utilities aren't just growing — they're merging into megacorps to keep the lights on for Jensen Huang's ambitions.
Meanwhile, $REGN (Regeneron) had the opposite kind of Monday, cratering ~11% (and now down 18% YTD) after a late-stage melanoma trial failure. Cold comfort: at least it's not being acquired by someone who has to figure out how to power a data center. Elsewhere, 30-year bond yields punching above 5% for the first time since 2007 are making every growth stock nervous — with CPI at 3.8% YoY and PPI at 6%, the Fed's new chair Kevin Warsh has inherited a flaming paper bag on his doorstep.
The power grid is becoming the new semiconductor supply chain — whoever controls the electrons controls the AI economy, and $NEE just made the boldest bet on that thesis yet.