By Mackenzie Tatananni

Vistra reported strong fourth-quarter earnings and reiterated its fiscal-year guidance but shares declined as Nvidia traded lower, showcasing the link between nuclear energy and artificial-intelligence stocks.

Vistra reported net income of $490 million for the December quarter, a reversal from a loss of $184 million in the prior year. Vistra also posted adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $1.93 billion in the quarter, topping the consensus call for $1.38 billion among analysts tracked by FactSet.

The company reaffirmed its 2025 guidance for ongoing operations adjusted Ebitda in the range of $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion. Vistra also said it expects adjusted free cash flow before growth of between $3 billion and $3.6 billion.

Vistra, the largest competitive power generator in the U.S, was rebranded from Texas Competitive Electric Holdings in 2016 after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Its portfolio includes coal, solar, and natural gas, but Vistra's name has increasingly been associated with nuclear energy. Last year, Vistra announced it had completed its acquisition of Energy Harbor, which included the addition of three nuclear power plants.

Vistra is currently the second-largest owner of independent nuclear plants, behind Constellation Energy. It is also among the energy companies tied to the artificial intelligence trade, with analysts arguing that it stands to benefit from data centers' appetite for power.

After rising in premarket trading, Vistra stock turned lower, declining 3.4% to $143.22. Peer stocks also were down. Constellation Energy and NuScale Power fell 2.9% and 3.2%, respectively.

The declines came as Nvidia shares fell 2.3% to $128.32. It is unsurprising that such a downturn would trigger a similar reaction in nuclear stocks since the two sectors recently have been tightly interwoven.

Just last week, nuclear stocks traded lower following a report from TD Cowen analysts that Microsoft had cancelled some data center leases in the U.S., signaling a lower-than-expected demand for power.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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February 27, 2025 10:31 ET (15:31 GMT)

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