Utility stocks Evergy and Entergy both posted gains on Friday, driven by surging demand from data centers and large-scale power agreements. Evergy closed at $83.85, up 1.26%, while Entergy ended at $111.11, a 1.11% increase. Both stocks outperformed the broader market but lagged some sector peers in a generally strong session for U.S. equities.
Evergy's shares came within 1.67% of their 52-week high, reflecting investor optimism around its data-center growth strategy. However, a recent analysis by Eudaemon Research on Seeking Alpha suggests that the positive outlook is already reflected in the stock's price. The analysis assigned a Hold rating to Evergy, citing execution, financing, and regulatory risks associated with its capital plan. The stock trades at 19.5 times forward non-GAAP earnings.
Investor interest in Evergy has been building, with Insider Monkey recently highlighting a bullish case on Yahoo Finance, noting the stock at $82.27 as of June 9. The company has signed five major data-center power deals and raised its growth outlook above most regulated utilities. Evergy reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted EPS target of $4.14 to $4.34 and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.695 per share. CEO David Campbell described first-quarter results as solid despite mild weather and maintained the company's longer-term adjusted EPS growth outlook of 6% to 8% through 2030.
The utility now expects its weather-normalized retail demand compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to be approximately 7% to 8% from 2025 through 2030, up from an earlier projection of 6%. Its updated large-load customer list includes Google, Meta, Panasonic, and a newly added premier developer project. Projected served megawatts are expected to rise from around 350–400 MW in 2026 to roughly 2,050–2,250 MW by 2030, with peak capacity reaching about 3,000 MW.
Entergy, meanwhile, is pursuing an even more aggressive growth trajectory. At its June 9 investor day, the New Orleans-based utility unveiled a $67 billion capital investment plan for 2026–2030, which includes nuclear fuel. The company provided 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.25 to $4.45 and projects adjusted EPS in 2030 between $7.05 and $7.35. Entergy also maintained its five-year retail sales growth outlook of approximately 9%.
Data centers are central to Entergy's strategy. The company estimates that data-center deals secured from 2024 through 2025 will drive approximately $49 billion in regional investment and generate about $7 billion in total savings for its 2.3 million customers across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Entergy's latest investor materials outline potential base case additions of 7–12 GW linked to data centers, plus an additional 3–5 GW from other industries, underscoring the pivotal role of electricity demand growth for regulated utilities.
As investors increasingly scrutinize whether surging power demand justifies elevated valuations, both Evergy and Entergy are positioning themselves as key beneficiaries of the data-center boom. The broader utility sector has seen heightened interest as tech giants and other large consumers seek reliable power sources for their expanding operations.
