GE Vernova (GEV +5.49%) is up an incredible 71% in 2026, and rose 24.1% in April alone, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The latest monthly move comes as the company's first-quarter earnings report confirmed that the primary driver of its earnings, burgeoning demand for power for AI, is accelerating rather than slowing down.
GE Vernova's soaring demand
The evidence supporting the last statement comes from the increase in orders and even more so from something called slot reservation agreements (SRA). I'll return to these points in a moment.
NYSE: GEV
Key Data Points
GE Vernova's core product is gas power turbines (power segment), from which it generates a long-term stream of services revenue. These turbines, notably the heavy-duty ones, have seen increasing demand as power sources for AI data centers. The increase in overall power demand is also causing utilities to ramp up spending on electrification equipment (GE Vernova's second business), and the segment is benefiting from AI data center demand.
The company's third segment, and once the most celebrated part of its portfolio, is the loss-making wind (wind turbines) business, in which management's game plan is to work through unprofitable offshore wind contracts while growing the onshore wind business.
GE Vernova increases full-year guidance
Clearly, the power and electrification segments are driving growth, and power orders increased 59% year over year organically in the first quarter. Moreover, , electrification orders increased 86% year over year on an organic basis to $7.1 billion in the first quarter. As such, overall orders of $18.1 billion in the quarter led management to raise its full-year guidance:
- Full-year revenue of $44.5 billion to $45.5 billion in 2026, compared to previous guidance of $44 billion to $45 billion
- Full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of 12%-14% compared to previous guidance of 11%-13%.
- The backlog now stands at $163 billion, and management expects to reach $200 billion in 2027, up from a previous expectation of 2028.
Image source: Getty Images.
These numbers are impressive enough and speak to the strength of the demand, but probably the most impressive demonstration of the underlying demand comes from the increase in SRAs in the quarter. SRAs are simply agreements under which customers pay upfront (typically 20% to 25% of the equipment value) to secure slots for future gas turbine manufacturing. Demand is so strong that management is seeing SRA extending into 2031.
GE Vernova had 43 gigawatts (GW) of SRA in the backlog at the end of 2025, rising to 56 GW at the end of the first quarter. Moreover, the SRA is coming in with higher margins, according to CEO Scott Strazik.
Image source: Getty Images.
Where next for GE Vernova
All of this is a far cry from the dog days of the late 2010s, when GE Vernova was part of the former General Electric, and most investors wrote off the gas turbine equipment business amid the rise of renewable energy. That's all changed with the insatiable demand for power caused by AI, and as long as hyperscalers continue to invest, GE Vernova investors can expect favorable conditions.
