On the heels of three consecutive years of double-digit gains, the market continues to climb in 2026. The S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.30%) has notched a 1% gain year to date, and analysts are predicting the benchmark index will close the year with a fourth double-digit return.
Even so, not every growth stock will be a winner by the end of this year. Nor will every winner this year go on to beat the market continuously. That's why, if your time horizon is long and you can stay invested for several years, selecting stocks today should be about discerning which stories are durable and which are tales spun up for the moment.
The durable stories worth tracking right now have to do with the future of energy. Novel energy solutions are needed for infrastructure to support rampant data center construction, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, among others.
With that in mind, the following three energy stocks might be worth a $100 investment today.
1. Oklo
Oklo (OKLO 3.95%) is a pre-revenue nuclear start-up designing small reactors with complementary fuel recycling capabilities.
Its flagship design -- Aurora powerhouses -- can run on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), a special fuel that cuts down on refueling. It's also small enough that it can be built near data center campuses without intrusion.
NYSE: OKLO
Key Data Points
Oklo has cleared some key regulatory milestones, including the start to the construction of its first-ever Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory. The company plans to demonstrate this technology before America's 250th birthday on July 4, 2026.
Despite no revenue to date, Oklo is making tangible progress, and it could become a key utility player in a future of data centers.
2. Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy (BE +1.79%) is a clean energy company manufacturing solid oxide fuel cells for on-site power generation.
Image source: Bloom Energy.
If "solid oxide fuel cells" gives you a head-tilt, think of it as a small power plant, the size of a parking lot, that can generate power from different fuel sources, like natural gas and hydrogen. Moreover, these generators don't burn fuel but rather convert it into electricity through a chemical reaction.
NYSE: BE
Key Data Points
Bloom already has a long list of blue chip customers, and it's significantly increasing its revenue because of that. If Bloom can successfully integrate its technology into AI infrastructure -- which it looks poised to do -- this stock could take off in a heartbeat.
3. NuScale Power
Like Oklo, NuScale (SMR 2.50%) is designing a small modular reactor (SMR). Unlike Oklo, however, it already has regulatory approval for an SMR design.
That gives it first-mover advantage. And despite lacking a first customer for its SMR technology, it is involved in several projects that could see the deployment of its reactor in a real-world setting soon.
NYSE: SMR
Key Data Points
Of course, like Oklo -- but unlike Bloom -- NuScale doesn't have the privilege of scaling its technology in commercial settings. It's unclear, therefore, how much it will cost to build and operate these SMRs. The nuclear industry also involves many moving parts -- like uranium mining and enrichment -- that can affect NuScale's bottom line. Growth, in other words, likely won't be linear.
Each of these companies has a big idea, yet hasn't grown into its full potential. They're speculative, so weigh the risks carefully, but each seems worthy of a starter $100 position today.
