Duke Energy DUK and AES Corporation AES are emerging as increasingly attractive investment opportunities as global demand for clean electricity accelerates, driven by both long-term structural shifts and rapid technological change. Decarbonization policies, the electrification of transportation and growing corporate sustainability commitments are steadily pushing energy systems toward renewables, while advances in digital technologies are increasing overall power consumption. Together, these forces are reshaping the energy landscape and strengthening the outlook for utilities that are already investing in cleaner and more resilient infrastructure.
A major catalyst behind this demand surge is the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence-powered data centers. These facilities require enormous, continuous electricity loads to run high-performance computing systems and maintain cooling operations around the clock. Unlike traditional data usage, AI workloads are far more energy-intensive and cannot tolerate interruptions, placing additional strain on existing grids.
Both companies are expanding generation capacity and grid infrastructure to meet increasing electricity consumption. Let's compare the two stocks' fundamentals to find out which one is a better investment pick at present.
Factors in Favor of DUK
Duke Energy proposes new rate structures and customer categories to manage large data center loads efficiently. The need to serve these loads accelerates necessary grid upgrades, improving overall system reliability and efficiency.
The company is currently focused on expanding its scale of operations, implementing modern technologies at its facilities as well as enhancing its renewable generation portfolio by investing heavily in infrastructure and expansion projects. To meet customer needs, DUK currently anticipates spending capital worth $200-$220 billion over the next decade, a major portion of which will go to the clean energy transition. Of this, DUK currently expects to spend approximately $103 billion during the 2026-2030 period.
To further expand its renewable portfolio, the company has been focusing on the growing electric vehicle (EV) market. Duke Energy has more than 600 EVs in its fleet, including over 220 on-road vehicles.
Factors in Favor of AES
AES is taking advantage of the global transition to renewable energy by making strategic investments in clean energy solutions, such as energy storage and utility-scale renewables, which offer a long-term growth opportunity.
The company signed or secured new long-term PPAs for 4 GW of renewables in 2025. It also completed the construction of 3.2 GW of solar, energy storage and wind projects during the year and currently has a project backlog of 12 GW under signed PPAs, including 5.7 GW that is under construction.
AES has about 4.2 GW of data center PPAs in operation and a total of 8.2 GW in signed agreements. In February 2026, AES signed agreements for energy generation projects. Under the deal, AES will supply power to Google’s new Wilbarger County data center through long-term PPAs, while also developing co-located generation, owning and operating the assets, and providing energy management services.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for DUK & AES?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Duke Energy’s 2026 and 2027 earnings per share (EPS) indicates a year-over-year rise of 6.18% and 6.54%, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AES’ 2026 and 2027 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 0.85% and 3.44%, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
DUK & AES’ Return on Equity (ROE)
ROE measures how efficiently a company is utilizing its shareholders’ funds to generate profits. AES’ current ROE is 19.94% compared with Duke Energy’s 9.67%. The industry has an ROE of 10.82% at present.
DUK & AES’ Debt Position
Currently, AES and Duke Energy’s total debt to capital is 76.66% and 62.19%, respectively, compared with the industry’s average of 61.04%.
Price Performance for DUK & AES
Over the past three months, shares of Duke Energy and AES have increased 7.3% and 1.7%, respectively, compared with the industry’s average growth of 8.7%.
Valuation for DUK & AES
AES shares trade at a forward 12-month Price/Earnings (P/E F12M) of 6X compared with Duke Energy’s P/E F12M of 18.74X.
DUK & AES: Which Is a Better Choice Now?
Utilities like AES and Duke Energy are well-positioned to benefit, as they are actively expanding renewable energy capacity, such as wind, solar, and battery storage, while upgrading grid systems to handle rising demand. This positions them not only as beneficiaries of the clean energy transition but also as key enablers of the rapidly growing AI-driven economy.
We currently prefer DUK, given its stronger long-term earnings growth, healthier balance sheet and better price performance than AES. Both DUK and AES carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report
The AES Corporation (AES): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).