A Giant Problem Emerges For The AI Trade: A Power Shortfall Of 44 Nuclear Power Plants By 2028

For much of the past 18 months we have been banging the table on what we said would be the Next AI Trade (which we first discussed in April 2024) pitching the "picks and shovels" angle of the AI revolution, namely going long the "Power-Up America" basket - i.e., companies that produce and support the massive energy backbone that will be needed to energize the hundreds of new data centers popping up across the country (and which in some cases are now dark because they don't have access to energy) predicting that energy would materially outperform the pure AI/data center trade. That's precisely what has happened as the following chart breaking down the AI trade into its three core components - broad AI, data center equipment, and our preferred trade, Power Up America (or energize the grid) - shows. The blue line has doubled since we first discussed its merits in April '24.