<div id="readability-page-1"><div> <h2>Key Points</h2><ul><li>Constellation Energy is the top provider of nuclear energy in the U.S.</li><li>The company's purchase of Calpine is already paying off.</li><li>Constellation said it plans to raise its dividend by 10% every year.</li><li>10 stocks we like better than Constellation Energy ›</li></ul>After a strong run in 2025, shares of Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG) appear, at first glance, to be running low on fuel in 2026, as they are down more than 20% since the start of the year.The company owns the largest nuclear power fleet in the U.S., putting it in a prime position to benefit from growing power needs from data centers. It has 55 gigawatts of power capacity from its nuclear, natural gas, geothermal, hydroelectric, wind, and solar facilities, enough energy to power 27 million homes.Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an &#34;Indispensable Monopoly&#34; providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »There are two explanations for Constellation's share-price decline this year. The first is somewhat minor: underwhelming guidance for 2026. The company said it expects 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of between $11 and $12, with the midpoint up 55% over 2025, narrowly below analysts' $11.60 a share forecast.The stock was also pulled down by news that the company's restart of Three Mile Island (now called the Crane Clean Energy Center) will take longer than expected because of power line delays.But there are reasons for investor optimism as well. Here's why.<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg2Mjk4MS9udWNsZWFyLXBvd2VyLmpwZyZ3PTcwMA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="700" height="466" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg2Mjk4MS9udWNsZWFyLXBvd2VyLmpwZyZ3PTcwMA"/>Image source: Getty Images. <h2>Taking a longer look at the stock</h2>Through 2029, however, the energy company is predicting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for EPS of 20% or higher. The company has a substantial moat because nuclear power plants are difficult to build from both a regulatory standpoint and a cost basis.In 2025, Constellation reported revenue of $25.5 billion, up 8%, though EPS was $7.39, down 37.8% year over year, thanks mainly to one-time costs related to the company's $16.4 billion acquisition of natural gas and geothermal energy provider Calpine.Data centers, crypto mining, and artificial intelligence are all driving power demand in the U.S., and Constellation, thanks to its 5,650 megawatts (MWhs) of long-term clean energy agreements, has a predictable revenue driver. Constellation already has a 20-year deal that will allow Microsoft to purchase power from the Crane Clean Energy Center once it restarts.Even with that agreement, the company has 147 million MWhs of annual nuclear generation it can sell to hyperscalers for long-term deals, giving Constellation pricing power.<h2>Get paid while you wait for the rebound</h2>Constellation Energy has increased its dividend by 202% over the past decade, including a 10% bump this year to $0.4265 per quarterly share. The yield is only around 0.57% at its current share price, but the company has said it plans to raise the dividend by 10% or more every year, and since its payout ratio is only 21%, that's certainly not a problem.I also think investors are not fully accounting for the benefits of Calpine's acquisition. In February, Constellation announced that Calpine had landed a 380-megawatt agreement with Dallas-based CyrusOne, a data center developer, to connect and serve a new data center south of Dallas. That deal is in addition to a 400-megawatt contract signed late last year with CyrusOne for a data center near the Thad Hill Energy Center, northwest of Waco, Texas.<h2>Should you buy stock in Constellation Energy right now?</h2> Before you buy stock in Constellation Energy, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Constellation Energy wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $573,160!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,204,712!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,002% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 195% for the S&amp;P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 15, 2026. James Halley has positions in Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Constellation Energy and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. </div></div>

CEGX

Constellation Energy, the leading nuclear energy provider in the U.S., has seen its stock drop over 20% this year, attributed to underwhelming 2026 earnings guidance and delays in the restart of the Three Mile Island facility. Despite this, the company forecasts a 20% annual growth rate for earnings per share through 2029 and plans to increase its dividend by 10% annually. The acquisition of Calpine is expected to enhance revenue, particularly from data centers. However, analysts suggest considering other stocks for investment as Constellation was not included in a recent top stock list.

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This Magnificent Energy Stock Is Down 20%. Buy It Before It Sets a New All-Time High.