Data Center Construction Rapidly Expanding Beyond Traditional Markets
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 24 2026
0mins
Should l Buy VST?
Source: CNBC
- Market Shift: Texas is poised to surpass Virginia as the world's largest data market, with JLL reporting that about 64% of the 35-gigawatt construction pipeline is extending beyond traditional mature markets, indicating a significant market shift and growth potential.
- Low Vacancy Rates: Data center vacancies remained at a historic low of 1% at the end of 2025 for the second consecutive year, demonstrating strong market demand, with nearly all construction pipelines pre-committed by investment-grade tenants, thus mitigating bubble concerns.
- Surge in Capital Expenditures: The top five hyperscalers have planned capital expenditures of $710 billion in 2026, reflecting strong demand for infrastructure development, which has attracted a record $75 billion in financing, further propelling industry growth.
- Short-Term Strategy: Nuveen is adopting a build-and-sell strategy to capitalize on current strong demand while mitigating risks, with its global real estate head stating that there won't be an oversupply situation in the next five years, although long-term prospects remain uncertain.
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Analyst Views on VST
Wall Street analysts forecast VST stock price to rise
11 Analyst Rating
11 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 151.290
Low
217.00
Averages
240.09
High
287.00
Current: 151.290
Low
217.00
Averages
240.09
High
287.00
About VST
Vistra Corp. is an integrated retail electricity and power generation company that provides essential resources to customers, businesses, and communities from California to Maine. It operates a reliable power generation fleet of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities while taking an innovative, customer-centric approach to its retail business. Its segments include Retail, Texas, East, West, and Asset Closure. The Retail segment is engaged in retail sales of electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The Texas and East segments are engaged in electricity generation, wholesale energy sales and purchases, commodity risk management activities, fuel procurement, and logistics management. The West segment represents results from the CAISO market, including its battery ESS projects at its Moss Landing power plant site. The Asset Closure segment is engaged in the decommissioning and reclamation of retired plants and mines.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Capacity Constraints Adjustment: Due to limited production capacity on TSMC's A16 process, NVIDIA is revising the design of its Feynman AI chips, with only critical components expected to use the A16 process while others shift to the older N3P process, potentially delaying product launches.
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- Market Sentiment Shift: Despite outperforming most peers in the “Magnificent 7,” NVIDIA's stock has declined 5.8% in 2026, and retail sentiment shifted from 'bullish' to 'neutral', reflecting investor concerns over broader market weakness that could impact future investment decisions.
See More
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- Strategic Shift: OpenAI is recalibrating its growth strategy, aiming to reduce previous high spending levels to a more sustainable pace, with total compute spending projected to reach $600 billion by 2030, thereby enhancing investor confidence and addressing market expectations for fiscal responsibility.
- Reliance on Partners: Facing practical difficulties in building data centers, OpenAI has opted to rely on partners like Oracle, Microsoft, and Amazon for computing capacity; while this strategy alleviates immediate pressure, it may affect long-term market competitiveness.
- Investment and Financing: OpenAI secured $110 billion in its recent funding round, including $50 billion from Amazon, enabling substantial investments in computing capacity, yet raising concerns in the market regarding its path to profitability amidst such high expenditure commitments.
See More
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- Dividend Distribution: The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2280 per share payable on March 31, 2026, to all common shareholders of record as of March 20, 2026, reflecting an effort to maintain shareholder returns despite negative market reactions.
- Financial Performance Decline: Vistra Corp. reported a 66% year-over-year decline in net income, dropping from $2.812 billion in 2024 to $944 million, with operating revenues also decreasing by 3%, highlighting significant profitability pressures that may affect investor confidence moving forward.
- Adjusted EBITDA Drop: The adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter decreased by 14%, from $1.9 billion to $1.7 billion, indicating ongoing challenges in profitability that could lead investors to reassess the company's growth potential.
See More
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- Nvidia Trading Activity: On Friday, Nvidia's trading volume exceeded 90.1 million shares with a price drop of about 1.5%, indicating market caution regarding its short-term performance, which could impact investor confidence.
- Tesla Market Performance: Tesla saw over 34.4 million shares traded, with a price decline of approximately 1.1%, reflecting overall market sentiment fluctuations in the electric vehicle sector, potentially leading investors to reassess its future growth potential.
- Oneok's Strong Performance: Oneok rose by about 3.7% on Friday, making it the best-performing component in the ETF, showcasing its relative resilience in the current market environment, which may attract more investor interest.
- Vistra's Weak Trading: Vistra's stock fell by approximately 6.5%, underperforming within the ETF, which may reflect market concerns about its future profitability, affecting its attractiveness in investment portfolios.
See More
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- Six Regulatory Proposals: The framework outlines six key regulatory measures, including implementing child safety rules and standardizing permitting and energy use for AI data centers, designed to enhance the safety of AI products and infrastructure while protecting lawful political expression and dissent rights.
- Congressional Collaboration Plan: The White House aims to work with Congress in the coming months to convert this framework into law, anticipating bipartisan support, although pushing this process faces challenges in a divided Congress, especially with Trump prioritizing other legislative efforts.
- Industry Opposition: AI industry leaders have strongly opposed state-level legislation, arguing that a
See More
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- Lumentum Options Volume: Lumentum Holdings Inc's options volume reached 33,509 contracts, representing approximately 3.4 million shares, which is 56.8% of its average daily trading volume, indicating a significant increase in market interest.
- High Strike Option Activity: Among LITE options, the $800 strike call option saw 1,643 contracts traded, representing about 164,300 underlying shares, reflecting investor expectations for future price appreciation.
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- High Strike Call Options: For VST, the $205 strike call option recorded a trading volume of 3,338 contracts, representing around 333,800 shares, indicating optimistic sentiment among investors regarding Vistra's future performance.
See More
