These energy stocks are poised to profit from an imminent AI power crunch

By Claudia Assis

Bloom Energy's stock leads S&P 500 gainers as Morgan Stanley flags top winners of the AI electricity crunch

Bloom and Solaris would benefit from an urgency around securing AI power, Morgan Stanley says.

An electric-power crunch is brewing thanks to the AI buildout, and a few companies, mostly in the energy and energy-infrastructure space, are slated to benefit from it.

That's according to analysts at Morgan Stanley, who on Monday singled out Bloom Energy (BE) and Solaris Energy Infrastructure (SEI) as the top beneficiaries. Bloom Energy's stock was the best performer in the S&P 500 index SPX on Monday.

Bloom is a behind-the-meter power generator utilizing fuel cells, while Solaris, also an onsite power developer, uses natural gas-powered turbines and other equipment.

Both would benefit from an urgency around securing power to AI developers, which, according to the analysts, remains underappreciated.

The projected energy shortfall "will likely increase the urgency, and premia paid, to secure time-to-power solutions in the U.S.," the analysts said.

Morgan Stanley also highlighted Cipher Digital (CIFR), Hut 8 (HUT), Riot Platforms (RIOT) and TeraWulf (WULF), bitcoin-focused companies that have broadly switched to AI infrastructure and data-center development.

In their note Monday, the analysts raised their call for a global 2026-'28 net power shortfall to 38 gigawatts from 33 gigawatts.

While they said that the gap is "real" and a constraint to the buildout, they added that "many investors" are taking the view that companies will find creative ways around the bottlenecks.

Besides a bigger role for behind-the-meter businesses like Bloom Energy and Solaris, potential power expansion in Asia and the emergence of grid-enhancing technologies, as well as data-center curtailment, would be ways to mitigate the shortfall, they said.

Such levers, however, face constraints of their own, such as labor and limits to what grid optimization could do, the Morgan Stanley analysts said.

Shares of Bloom Energy were on pace for their largest one-day percentage rise since Sept. 29, when they rose 11%. The stock is up more than 140% this year, which comes on top of gains of nearly 300% in 2025.

Solaris Energy shares were on track for their largest one-day boost since Wednesday, when they rose 9.5%. The stock is up 38% year to date, adding to 2025 gains of 60%.

-Claudia Assis

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10-26-26 1410ET