[Reuters Analysis] Seven possibly magnificent US clean energy stocks: Maguire

By Gavin Maguire

LITTLETON, Colorado, Oct 16 (Reuters) - After years-long beat-downs, several U.S.-listed clean energy stocks are on a tear and are handily outperforming most established energy majors despite U.S. President Donald Trump's policy push away from clean energy since retaking office.

Many of the gainers are being dragged higher by the ongoing AI boom, as the urgent need to generate more electricity to power data centers is buoying the stock prices of firms tied to boosting energy supplies.

Others are benefiting from the worsening trade tensions between the United States and China, especially firms that can produce materials and components deemed critical for the energy, technology and defense industries.

Discerning which stocks are likely long-term winners is tricky. Only some of the firms are actually generating profits from ongoing business, while others are climbing on hopes for product or process breakthroughs that may be decades away.

To help explore the range of companies caught in the current clean energy upturn, below are seven stocks that have notched eye-catching gains so far in 2025, and have the potential to emerge as mainstream stock market darlings in the years ahead.

NUCLEAR PROMISE

Among the swath of clean energy companies that have seen share prices surge, two firms tied to the U.S. nuclear power sector stand out prominently: Centrus Energy Corp .LEU and Oklo Inc .OKLO.N.

Centrus Energy's stock price has surged by more than 550% so far in 2025, largely on the back of the Trump administration's support for fast-tracking the development of nuclear reactors.

Centrus was the first U.S. company licensed to produce High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), which is a critical fuel for the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Oklo's share price has surged more than 700% year-to-date, and the company has benefited from the upbeat outlook for its small reactors that it is marketing to data centers as a source of reliable, clean power.

However, while Centrus and Oklo are currently riding high on widespread optimism for nuclear power in the United States, both companies face the challenge of turning potential sales into bankable revenues.

The years-long development times for new nuclear reactors remain a sore point for businesses that need more power immediately, and could work against nuclear developers if deployment delays mount up.

If utilities and data center developers find other, quicker ways of fulfilling their power needs, the order books for both Centrus' uranium and Oklo's reactors could thin out fast.

RARE-ISH RESOURCES

While heavily trailing the stock price gains of their nuclear peers, U.S.-based materials producers U.S. Antimony Corp .UAMY.K and American Resources Corp AREC.O have both seen share prices hit multi-year highs in 2025.

UAMY specializes in producing antimony - used extensively in battery energy storage systems - while AREC focuses on refining rare earths to generate high-purity materials used in magnets, batteries and heat-resistant applications.

UAMY's shares are up around 690% year-to-date, while AREC's shares are up around 390%.

Both companies have received support from the U.S. government as suppliers of critical resources, and so stand to benefit from growing demand from customers needing to find non-Chinese vendors of those materials.

However, due to China's dominance in the production and supply of those same materials, both UAMY and AREC may struggle to grow their businesses outside the U.S. in markets where their Chinese peers compete directly.

CHARGING AHEAD

Other notable U.S.-based clean energy stocks this year include Bloom Energy .BE, which makes fuel cells that can generate electricity directly at business sites, and Solid Power Inc SLDP.O, which manufactures solid-state batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage networks.

Bloom Energy's shares are up over 400% year-to-date, thanks in part to a deal with Brookfield Asset Management BAM.TO to become the preferred onsite power provider at its AI factories.

Solid Power's shares are up around 275%, and given the upbeat demand outlook for grid-scale batteries it looks primed for additional sales growth over the near to medium term.

However, both firms face stiff competition from rivals offering similar capabilities and will take a hit from any potential slowdown in the pace of construction of energy storage systems and AI data centers.

Another notable stock price gainer so far in 2025 has been SolarEdge Technologies SEDG.O, which makes inverters that optimize the power flow from solar panels. SolarEdge shares are up roughly 200% year-to-date.

As an Israel-based firm, SolarEdge is not a U.S. company. However, it has rapidly expanded its U.S. manufacturing base and so stands to benefit from strong demand for locally-made components as the U.S. power grid continues to add more solar systems.

All told, while the seven stocks listed above all play quite distinct roles within the U.S. clean energy space, they have all benefited from the rising tide of investor interest in the sector so far in 2025.

Each firm also has distinct competitive advantages compared to many rivals, which could broaden their appeal among general investors and potentially see them vie for portfolio share with the likes of tech giants and chipmakers over the long run.

The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

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Seven clean energy high-fliers

Price performance of seven key clean energy stocks