AI infrastructure triggered an IPO boom in the energy industry, but nearly two-thirds fell below the issue price
Computing power infrastructure has detonated power demand, and energy companies have become the "water carriers" of the AI "gold rush". In the first half of this year, the energy industry ushered in the hottest IPO wave in this century. According to statistics from Dealogic, a British financial transaction data service provider, the total amount of IPO funds raised by energy companies in the first half of this year reached US$12.6 billion. This not only set the highest level in the first half of the year since the peak of the Internet bubble at the end of 1999, but also set a new record for the first half of the year, far exceeding the total fund-raising of US$4.3 billion in 2025.
Computing power infrastructure has detonated power demand, and energy companies have become the "water carriers" of the AI "gold rush". In the first half of this year, the energy industry ushered in the hottest IPO wave in this century. According to statistics from Dealogic, a British financial transaction data service provider, the total amount of IPO funds raised by energy companies in the first half of this year reached US$12.6 billion. This not only set the highest level in the first half of the year since the peak of the Internet bubble at the end of 1999, but also set a new record for the first half of the year, far exceeding the total fund-raising of US$4.3 billion in 2025. It is worth noting that the "energy companies" referred to in this statistics do not only refer to energy assets and power operating companies, but also include energy and power infrastructure equipment manufacturers such as transformers and generators. Note: The blue column in the figure is the IPO financing amount in the first half of each year, and the beige column is the IPO financing amount in the second half of the year. Chris Dendrinos, clean energy analyst at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), said: "The first step for investors is to buy AI concept stocks such as NVIDIA. Then they realize: 'Wait a minute, every chip needs electricity to drive!' This has brought a huge tailwind effect to energy companies." Manish Kabra, head of U.S. equity strategy at Societe Generale, said: "Power capacity expansion, reshoring of U.S. manufacturing and AI-related infrastructure investment remain our core asset allocation directions." GMO, a global asset management and ETF issuer, launched a power infrastructure ETF this week with a core focus on investing in stocks in the power generation, power grid and electrification infrastructure sectors. Bill Smith, director of Renaissance Capital, a global IPO data service provider, said that the IPO market in 2026 will be recorded in history for two things: first, the listing of SpaceX; second, the market's large-scale fundraising for AI infrastructure construction. A number of energy and power-related companies have completed IPOs: Forgent Power Solutions, a power distribution equipment manufacturer, specializes in data center power distribution equipment. Benefiting from the shortage of transformers and switch cabinets and the long delivery cycle, it raised US$1.7 billion in IPO in February this year; German gas engine manufacturer Innio accurately stepped on the new industry trend of data centers turning to on-site independent power generation, and completed an IPO of nearly US$2.8 billion in June this year. In addition, Small Modular Reactor (SMR) fuel supplier Standard Nuclear is expected to conduct a U.S. stock IPO later this month. A typical AI core data center consumes about 876,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually, which is roughly equivalent to the total electricity consumption of residents in a medium-sized city for a year. According to forecasts by ICF, a global energy and environmental consulting service provider, U.S. electricity demand is expected to grow by 39% between 2026 and 2035. Speculative projects flood into public markets Nowadays, asset-heavy companies involved in nuclear power and geothermal energy have also successively entered the public market to raise funds; at the same time, investors have also shown their willingness to invest in new technology development companies. Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Jefferies’ research analyst covering power, utilities and clean energy, noted: “This is a time when even speculative projects can be funded and underwritten, and funding sources are no longer limited to venture capital or private equity.” In addition, the energy sector's relatively low valuations have also attracted investors. Industry data shows that the current price-to-earnings ratio of the energy industry is about 18 times, while the price-to-earnings ratio of the information technology industry is as high as 40 times. Breaks one after another: Market sounds alarm? Although the market has a strong willingness to subscribe for IPOs of energy companies, there are also signs that many investors are crazy about popular companies when they go public, and then choose to sell them for cash soon after. According to data from Dealogic, a financial transaction data service provider, nearly two-thirds of the stocks of energy companies listed since the beginning of 2025 have currently fallen below the issue price. In comparison, less than 40% of all IPOs in the industry have failed. Note: The picture shows the rise and fall of the stock prices of energy companies listed since the beginning of 2025. The red ones are companies that fell below the issue price.
X-energy, which is backed by Amazon and is committed to developing small modular nuclear reactors, went public in April this year. Its stock price has fallen 33% from its issue price of US$23; gas generator manufacturer ERock has lost 42% of its market value since its IPO in June; and data center energy company Fermi has seen its stock price drop by 68% since it went public in October last year. Jeff Osborne, a sustainability and energy transition analyst at TD Cowen, a US stock investment bank, said that companies that are currently performing well usually "already have a physical business" and are not conducting "a pure scientific experiment." (
X-energy, which is backed by Amazon and is committed to developing small modular nuclear reactors, went public in April this year. Its stock price has fallen 33% from its issue price of US$23; gas generator manufacturer ERock has lost 42% of its market value since its IPO in June; and data center energy company Fermi has seen its stock price drop by 68% since it went public in October last year. Jeff Osborne, a sustainability and energy transition analyst at TD Cowen, a US stock investment bank, said that companies that are currently performing well usually "already have a physical business" and are not conducting "a pure scientific experiment." (