GE Vernova Just Beat Earnings by a Mile. Is This the Energy Stock to Own Right Now?
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By James Brumley – Apr 24, 2026 at 4:39AM ESTKey PointsGE Vernova's Q1 revenue and earnings were outstanding, handily topping analysts' expectations.The tailwind driving this growth is likely to persist for a long while.All of this opportunity may already be reflected in the stock's current price.The fact that GE Vernova (GEV +2.09%) just walloped its first-quarter earnings estimates isn't exactly surprising. Thanks to the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, the world's suffering a serious shortage of electricity. GE Vernova makes power-producing equipment. End of story. The matter isn't quite so simple for investors who already own or are eying this stock, though. See, the crowd's been bidding GEV shares higher for some time now, anticipating last quarter's smashing success. Now there's a not-so-small valuation problem. An unsurprisingly good quarter GE Vernova turned more than $9.34 billion in revenue into an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $896 million during the three months ending in March. Those numbers are up 16% and 96% year over year, respectively, and measurably better than the $9.25 billion and $772 million analysts were expecting. Image source: Getty Images. The future looks bright, too. The company raised its full-year outlook, from previous revenue guidance of $44 billion to $45 billion to a range of between $44.5 billion and $45.5 billion, inflating projected profit margin and cash-flow figures accordingly. Its power-production division is driving most of this past and future growth, of course, as demand for its natural gas turbines ramps up. This arm did nearly $5 billion worth of reported business last quarter, but received $10 billion worth of new orders. All told, the company's total backlog now stands at $163.3 billion, up 40% from the end of last year's Q1. That said, GE Vernova's wind power and electrification arms are doing well, too, with electrification seeing 61% year-over-year revenue growth during the first quarter to just under $3 billion, and adding $7.1 billion in new orders of its own. It all sounds fantastic. Just don't be too quick to dive into this well-proven company's stock. How to handle it from here This is still just the beginning, too.
The International Energy Agency expects worldwide demand for power to grow an average of 3.5% per year through 2030. That doesn't seem like much. But for a slow-moving industry that's already stretched thin, that's a lot. And all of this opportunity may already be reflected in GEV stock's price, and then some. Shares of this 2024 spinoff from industrial giant GE are up more than 700% since then, and higher by more than 300% from last year's low when the global electricity crunch became undeniable. This move has pushed GEV shares up to 80 times this year's expected earnings, and more than 50 times next year's projected profits. The stock's current price doesn't start making sense until you get to 2028's forecast earnings of $29.85 per share. ExpandNYSE: GEVGE VernovaToday's Change(2.09%) $23.59Current Price$1151.15Key Data PointsMarket Cap$309BDay's Range$1134.00 - $1181.7252wk Range$356.94 - $1181.95Volume132KAvg Vol2.7MGross Margin20.16%Dividend Yield0.13% That, however, is a long time for an already overvalued ticker to hold its ground, let alone continue rallying. Indeed, while Tuesday's Q1 report was clearly bullish for the stock, the big move might also be the surge that starts a wave of profit-taking. This might tell you all you need to know: Analysts' current consensus price target of $968.05 is 14% below GEV's present price. Just leave it on your watch list. Any sizable pullback is also a long-term buying opportunity.Read NextApr 23, 2026 •By Jeremy BowmanHigh Oil Prices Are Driving an EV Boom. Who's the Next Winner After Tesla?Apr 22, 2026 •By Howard SmithWhy GE Vernova Stock Hit an All-Time High TodayApr 22, 2026 •By Motley Fool TranscribingGE Vernova (GEV) Q3 2025 Earnings TranscriptApr 22, 2026 •By Motley Fool TranscribingGE Vernova (GEV) Q2 2025 Earnings TranscriptApr 22, 2026 •By Motley Fool TranscribingGE Vernova (GEV) Q1 2026 Earnings TranscriptApr 15, 2026 •By Matthew BenjaminNuclear Is the Energy Story of 2026. Here Are 3 Stocks to Own All Year.About the AuthorJames Brumley is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks. James is a former licensed stockbroker with Charles Schwab, and a registered investment adviser. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management with a specialization in finance from Transylvania University.TMFjbrumleyX@jbrumleyStocks MentionedGE VernovaNYSE: GEV$1,151.15(+2.09%)+$23.59GE AerospaceNYSE: GE$282.34(+2.19%)+$6.05*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.