What happened
Brookfield Renewable Corporation (BEPC +0.00%) stock slumped this week, losing 10.5% in value through 2 p.m. ET Friday, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. With this week's loss, the renewable energy stock has now tumbled almost 26% in just a month.
Brookfield Renewable made a major growth move this week, but weak market sentiment continued to weigh down on the stock's price.
So what
Inflation data has been among the biggest drivers of volatility in the stock markets in recent months. This week was no different, with the latest inflation report revealing yet another larger-than-expected rise in consumer prices for September.
With inflation showing no signs of slowing down, the markets realized it's futile to expect the Federal Reserve to slow down its interest-rate increase spree anytime soon. Since rising inflation and interest rates are a prelude to an economic slowdown, investors dumped stocks in fear. Brookfield Renewable couldn't escape the market's wrath either, despite operating in an industry with a bright future. Investors perhaps fear Brookfield Renewable's growth will slow down in a rising interest-rate environment, since the company typically funds its growth capital expenditure with a mix of both organic cash flows and debt.
To add fuel to investors' fears, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its global growth outlook for 2023 in the wake of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the energy crisis in Europe, and a potential slowdown in China among other things, and even forewarned that next year "will feel like a recession" for many.
Now what
Since Brookfield Renewable has a strong global presence, including extensive operations in Europe and China, and its quarterly earnings are also due in three weeks, investors are turning increasingly nervous about what the company may have to say about its growth prospects and spending plans for the near future.
NYSE: BEPC
Key Data Points
Brookfield Renewable, though, seems unperturbed for now, if its huge announcement this week is anything to go by. The company, along with its institutional partners, has joined hands with uranium giant Cameco to acquire Westinghouse Electric, the world's largest provider of nuclear energy equipment and services, which powers almost 50% of all nuclear reactors currently in operation.
Westinghouse's leadership makes this $7.9 billion acquisition one of the largest deals in the nuclear energy industry in recent memory, and it comes at a time when the nuclear energy industry is enjoying a renaissance thanks to surging fossil fuel prices in light of the Russia-Ukraine war. Brookfield Renewable is clearly exploiting a big opportunity here and diving in head first into nuclear energy with a majority stake in Westinghouse.
Investors, though, still dumped Brookfield Renewable stock this week, as they're more concerned about the company's near-term prospects amid a challenging macroeconomic environment than its long-term growth story, which is only getting stronger by the day.
