SpaceX power goal a 'clear positive' for GE Vernova, Baker Hughes

SpaceX plans to secure 20 gigawatts of power and cooling infrastructure by the end of 2026, a target that Melius Research managing director James West called a "clear positive" for equipment suppliers. The figure represents roughly half of the 53 GW of new generation capacity added to the U.S. grid in 2025.

Elon Musk, speaking on SpaceX's first earnings call as a public company, said the company expects to have 2 GW of compute capacity available, with plans to reach 10 GW of compute online by the end of next year. The 20 GW target for power infrastructure goes beyond that compute number, covering cooling and electrical equipment needed to support the AI hyperscaler.

"We're actually aiming to far exceed that gigawatt number in terms of power online, power cooling, and electrical equipment," Musk told analysts. He described 20 GW as a "tentative target" and said that even if the company falls short, it should have around 15 GW of capacity "at the power plant level" by the end of 2027.

The energy demands of AI build-outs have already pushed industrial stocks up 20% since the start of the year and more than 80% over the past five years. The companies best positioned to benefit, West said, are the same names that have seen business lines surge as demand for critical equipment soared.

The list includes GE Vernova, Baker Hughes, and power providers such as Constellation Energy, NextEra Energy, Vistra, and EQT Corporation, the nation's largest gas supplier. Demand for their specialized equipment is showing up in earnings.

GE Vernova reported order backlog growth of 36% to $176 billion in its second-quarter results released July 22. The power segment alone saw orders jump 134% year over year, "led by strength in Gas Power equipment and services."

Baker Hughes saw orders in its industrial energy & technology segment double year-on-year to more than $7 billion, according to its second-quarter earnings released July 26.

AlphaScala's proprietary scoring gives Baker Hughes a 54/100 (Mixed), NextEra Energy a 49/100 (Mixed), and Vistra a 25/100 (Weak), reflecting varied risk profiles among the suppliers. The broader energy infrastructure theme also ties into recent developments such as Chevron's selection of Texas Pacific Land for a $7 billion Microsoft data center campus, pointing to the length of the AI power demand pipeline.

Musk's comments come as SpaceX's hyperscaler ambitions have become a driving focus, with more than 90% of the company's total addressable market – roughly $26.5 trillion – forecast to come from AI, per SpaceX's prospectus. West's note to clients highlighted the equipment suppliers first. "SpaceX commentary on power got our attention," he wrote. The near-term catalysts are already visible in the order books of GE Vernova and Baker Hughes, where backlogs suggest the build-out is accelerating.