AI's Power Grab Is Ahead of Schedule

The energy surge you can't ignore... Data-center demand is skyrocketing... Why natural gas is the answer right now... Own the infrastructure... Tips for navigating the AI disruption...

Delivering World-Class Financial Research Since 1999 The energy surge you can't ignore... Data-center demand is skyrocketing... Why natural gas is the answer right now... Own the infrastructure... Tips for navigating the AI disruption... AI is using more energy than you might think... Over the past few weeks, we've taken a closer look at the AI story – from bubble concerns... to the "SaaSpocalypse"... to worries about AI replacing an unknown number of jobs. Today, we're looking at the infrastructure needed for the whole story to continue – data centers and the energy to power them. When OpenAI's ChatGPT launched the AI boom back in November 2022, data centers only made up about 4% of total power demand in the U.S. But since then, their energy share has increased substantially – hitting 7%, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. The trend will only continue from here. At the end of 2024, the Department of Energy projected that data centers could make up anywhere from 6.7% to 12% of total power demand by 2028. Here we are, only about a year after that projection, and data centers in the U.S. are already in that range – two years sooner than expected. And those are just the headline numbers. The story is even more pronounced in parts of the country with high data-center concentration, like "data-center alley" in northern Virginia, where these digital hubs made up 26% of all power demand in the region in 2023. There's also a backlog for new data centers waiting to go on line... In a post on social media platform X, user Lukas Ekwueme shared the following chart based on recent survey data. As you can see, it shows big tech companies (the green dots) believe that their data centers can get access to the grid next year. But utility companies (blue) are less optimistic. The average difference between what hyperscalers are hoping for and what utilities can deliver is just about a year. But in places like Texas and Ohio, utility companies are less optimistic. They don't think they can get new data centers power for two years or more. Energy companies' earnings are telling the same demand story... Yesterday, natural gas giant EQT (EQT) released its quarterly earnings results. EQT produces natural gas and delivers it across states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. In its earnings presentation, EQT noted that over the past 11 years, demand for gas-fired power "only" grew by about 14 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d). But over the next five years, data centers will account for 10 bcf/d of power demand. And they could account for as much as 18 bcf/d. In other words, data centers alone will call for the same amount of new power demand we saw in total over the past 11 years. Natural gas is the obvious solution in the short term... We've written a lot about nuclear energy in previous Digests. While the energy source is seeing tons of investment from Big Tech and the government, those plants will be under construction for years, let alone up and running. As Commodity Supercycles editor Whitney Tilson and his team explained in their January issue, there's only one energy source ready now to meet increased demand: natural gas. It's the most reliable source to create electricity at scale. As they wrote... There's no way to provide electricity to all these new data centers without building more power plants. And while solar, wind, and nuclear are working to make up some of that demand – and nuclear in particular is set to provide more power in the future – natural gas is the world's cleanest, most reliable energy source right now. And much-needed natural gas capacity is already on the way... Pipeline company Energy Transfer (ET), which runs natural gas pipelines throughout Texas, the Midwest, and the southwest, also reported its earnings yesterday. The company said it has started supplying one of Oracle's (ORCL) data centers with natural gas, as part of a deal to supply three Oracle data centers with up to 900 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. That's enough to power at least 3.5 million American homes. Energy Transfer has also increased the capacity of one of its pipelines in the southwest – from 42 inches wide to 48 inches. This will help it provide more natural gas faster to Arizona and New Mexico. Arizona is a growing market for data centers. According to the data-center-project tracker Cleanview, Arizona has 23 operational data centers, with another 29 planned. Those 29 planned data centers would increase the state's computing capacity sixfold – and bring a lot more demand for power. As for EQT, it has a stake in the Mountain Valley Pipeline ("MVP"), which transports natural gas from West Virginia to data-center-heavy northern Virginia. Owners of the MVP applied for a "boost" in October to increase capacity by 20% to meet growing demand. In short, as the Commodity Supercycles team concluded in last month's issue, "with natural gas in such high demand, it's a great time to own companies in the space." All of the natural gas companies in their model portfolio are still in buy range today. Existing Commodity Supercycles subscribers and Stansberry Alliance members can find the natural gas stocks and other companies set to benefit from data centers' need for more power right here. Speaking of AI, if you're not sure how to navigate its disruption in the market... Here's a good place to start... Today, our colleague Mike Barrett published a simple, effective framework for gauging the impacts of AI on your portfolio. In his weekly Select Value Opportunities update, Mike returned to his discussion of the "SaaSpocalypse" from two weeks ago, and wrote... The rise of AI technology is introducing a new dynamic we must adapt to... The market has splintered. And it's helpful for us to place stocks in one of three categories... Category 1: AI Winners (These stocks directly benefit from rising AI demand.) Category 2: AI-Resistant Stocks (These stocks are unaffected by AI.) Category 3: AI Victims (These stocks are at risk of disintermediation from AI.) There's a lot of uncertainty around future revenue growth and the profitability of perceived AI victims. So investors are unloading them. They're redeploying their capital into AI winners and those immune to AI's impacts. As UBS analyst Michael Brown recently noted, "We're in this moment where we don't really know what the next 12 months or 24 months [will bring for] companies [at risk from AI]." The bottom line is, we want to own stocks that benefit from AI (Category 1), as well as AI-resistant stocks (Category 2). We also want to avoid stocks that have a high risk of being displaced by AI (Category 3). Mike also assessed the recommendations in the Select Value Opportunities model portfolio. He considers three to be AI Winners, including one company you might not think about benefiting from the rise of data centers. Seven other recommendations in the portfolio are "resistant," meaning they are "companies that provide products and services that AI simply can't replace," Mike wrote. And none are victims, which is excellent news if AI fears continue to rise in the market. Select Value Opportunities subscribers and Stansberry Alliance members can read Mike's full issue here... and you may want to think about running this exercise on your own portfolio holdings. Given our subject today... We'd be remiss not to mention the free presentation our friend Marc Chaikin, founder of our corporate affiliate Chaikin Analytics, debuted yesterday. During the presentation, Marc unveiled a powerful new tool that he says can spot which AI stocks could double or triple your money this year. The trick is identifying the biggest earnings beats... before they occur. Marc's work at Chaikin Analytics is built on data and powered by technology that can help individual investors see where money is flowing on Wall Street and which sectors and businesses have trends in their favor. As Marc explains, AI breakthroughs "are only getting better... with the underlying technology doubling in power every six months now." But he's anticipating a "tug of war" in the market starting later this month. So it's not just about owning the right AI stocks. You also need to avoid the losers to protect your portfolio from painful losses. Marc says... I'm not predicting a prolonged crash. But what's coming next could be just as dangerous for your portfolio... in a way only the most sophisticated investors are likely to foresee. That's why I rushed to hold this event today. In Marc's free presentation, you'll hear his top stock to buy right now... a business that is harnessing AI to transform health care... and his colleague Joe Austin's recommendation of a "double bearish" stock to stay away from immediately. Click here to watch or read a transcript of Marc's full event right now. Recommended Links: Here's What You Missed Yesterday A rare class of AI stocks has opened a way to potentially double your portfolio in 2026. It works by predicting the biggest earnings beats on 5,000 stocks, BEFORE they occur. A colossal "divide" coming to AI on February 24 has opened the best opportunity since 2022 to apply this breakthrough new strategy today. Wall Street legend Marc Chaikin shares the full details and two free picks. Watch now (time-sensitive stocks). Washington's 'Project Vault' Changes Everything The White House's $10 billion resource-stockpile program turns the U.S. government into a massive buyer of these critical minerals, creating a once-in-a-generation chance to make extraordinary returns. That's the urgent message the man widely considered to be the greatest resource investor of all time is sharing today. Get the full details here BEFORE the White House buys. New 52-week highs (as of 2/17/26): Applied Materials (AMAT), Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box Fund (BOXX), CBOE Global Markets (CBOE), Canadian National Railway (CNI), FirstCash (FCFS), Freehold Royalties (FRU.TO), Hubbell (HUBB), Coca-Cola (KO), Lumentum (LITE), Monster Beverage (MNST), Novartis (NVS), New York Times (NYT), Realty Income (O), Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI), Roche (RHHBY), Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS), Tenaris (TS), Twist Bioscience (TWST), and State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI). In today's mailbag, more feedback on our annual Report Card from our Director of Research and Publisher Matt Weinschenk... thoughts about AI... and a reply to a note in yesterday's mail... What's on your mind? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com. "Good morning Matt, Thank you for completing the [Report Card] for Stansberry Research segments. Improvements come from honest information and Porter Stansberry has always provided that going into recommendations and the resulting yearly evaluations. Your grades and the analysis are essential for me to make sense of the changes in the investing/trading market. "More than anything, the yearly grades have kept me focused on the instruments that most closely meet my needs, versus the variety of investments that are available. Building the focus wasn't immediate but feedback made it deliberate over the years I have been a subscriber. I have become comfortably retired versus being an anxious, impulsive, and gullible individual. Your information equaled security given my limited earned income in the 'helping profession'. (Somehow the commitment to help others translated into an expectation of being willing to work almost for free.) I am grateful and thankful for what Stansberry Research has provided." – Subscriber Steve B. "Greetings, The messaging coming from these AI companies is wreaking havoc in the market. Yesterday, I caught a headline that read that 99% of software companies would be eliminated. The CEO of Anthropic supposedly said that unemployment could rise as much as 10-20% (quite a wide range and irresponsible comment) while the product promotion guy that you included in the Digest email [yesterday] seemed to say a somewhat different message. "These AI companies are creating advanced technology which combined with robotics is wreaking havoc in multiple sectors beyond just the software sector... Corporations [are] reacting with mass layoffs or hiring freezes. The entire AI and robotics sector needs to coordinate with our government leaders and hold multiple town hall type meetings on all the major media outlets to inform the public about a planned implementation of these technologies and how they are impacting our country and the corporate sector..." – Subscriber Rodger G. "Corey and Nick, In response to reader Larry N. and his experiences with Silver, IMO it's just as hard to know when to sell as it is to know when to buy. Thanks for the articles!" – Subscriber Michael U. All the best, Corey McLaughlin and Nick Koziol Baltimore, Maryland February 18, 2026 Stansberry Research Top 10 Open Recommendations Top 10 highest-returning open stock positions across all Stansberry Research portfolios. Returns represent the total return from the initial recommendation. Investment Buy Date Return Publication Analyst MSFT Microsoft 11/11/10 1,338.9% Retirement Millionaire Doc MSFT Microsoft 02/10/12 1,277.9% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter ADP Automatic Data Processing 10/09/08 817.4% Extreme Value Ferris BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway 04/01/09 792.8% Retirement Millionaire Doc WRB W.R. Berkley 03/15/12 659.0% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter GOOGL Alphabet 12/15/16 644.3% Retirement Millionaire Doc HSY Hershey 12/07/07 566.1% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter CIEN Ciena 10/20/22 564.6% Stansberry Innovations Report Engel ALS-T Altius Minerals 03/26/09 558.9% Extreme Value Ferris SII Sprott 01/11/18 556.2% Extreme Value Ferris Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 10 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the model portfolio of any Stansberry Research publication. The buy date reflects when the editor recommended the investment in the listed publication, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if a security is still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber to that publication and refer to the most recent portfolio. Top 10 Totals 3 Extreme Value Ferris 3 Retirement Millionaire Doc 3 Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter 1 Stansberry Innovations Report Engel Top 5 Crypto Capital Open Recommendations Top 5 highest-returning open positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolio Investment Buy Date Return Publication Analyst BTC/USD Bitcoin 11/27/18 1,695.7% Crypto Capital Wade WSTETH/USD Wrapped Staked Ethereum 12/07/18 1,667.1% Crypto Capital Wade ONE/USD Harmony 12/16/19 1,012.6% Crypto Capital Wade QRL/USD Quantum Resistant Ledger 01/19/21 660.9% Crypto Capital Wade POL/USD Polygon 02/26/21 645.6% Crypto Capital Wade Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 5 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the Crypto Capital model portfolio. The buy date reflects when the recommendation was made, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if it's still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber and refer to the most recent portfolio. Stansberry Research Hall of Fame Top 10 all-time, highest-returning closed positions across all Stansberry portfolios Investment Duration Gain Publication Analyst Nvidia (NVDA)^* 5.96 years 1,466% Venture Tech. Lashmet Microsoft (MSFT)^ 12.74 years 1,185% Retirement Millionaire Doc Inovio Pharma. (INO)^ 1.01 years 1,139% Venture Tech. Lashmet Rocket Lab (RKLB)^ 2.35 years 1,034% Venture Tech. Lashmet Seabridge Gold (SA)^ 4.20 years 995% Sjug Conf. Sjuggerud Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B)^ 16.13 years 800% Retirement Millionaire Doc Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) 1.95 years 775% Amer. Moonshots Root Rite Aid 8.5% bond 4.97 years 773% True Income Williams PNC Warrants (PNC-WS) 6.16 years 706% True Wealth Systems Sjuggerud Maxar Technologies (MAXR)^ 1.90 years 691% Venture Tech. Lashmet ^ These gains occurred with a partial position in the respective stocks. * Editor Dave Lashmet closed the first leg of this Nvidia position in November 2016 for a gain of about 108%. Then, he closed the second leg in July 2020 for a 777% return. And finally, in May 2022, he booked a 1,466% return on the final leg. Subscribers who followed his advice on Nvidia could've recorded a total weighted average gain of more than 600%. Stansberry Research Crypto Hall of Fame Top 5 highest-returning closed positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolio Investment Duration Gain Publication Analyst Band Protocol (BAND) 0.31 years 1,169% Crypto Capital Wade Terra (LUNA) 0.41 years 1,166% Crypto Capital Wade Polymesh (POLYX) 3.84 years 1,157% Crypto Capital Wade Frontier (FRONT) 0.09 years 979% Crypto Capital Wade Binance Coin (BNB) 1.78 years 963% Crypto Capital Wade You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to Stansberry Digest. 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