AI and Data Center Impact - AI boom is driving significant demand for data center capacity, leading to substantial investments by hyperscalers like Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft [2] - These four hyperscalers are projected to spend over $350 billion on data centers in 2024 and potentially over $500 billion in 2026 [2] - Data centers are massive energy consumers, with AI applications requiring significantly more power than traditional computing [3] - Data centers could consume as much as 12% of US electricity by 2028, up from less than 2% before 2020 [4] Utilities Sector Performance - Utilities sector is benefiting from the increased electricity demand driven by data centers and AI applications [1][4] - Utilities was the third best-performing sector in 2024, gaining more than 19%, behind only technology and communication services [4] - Traditionally, utilities are known for their defensive nature and steady dividends, outperforming during economic slowdowns [4][5] - Stocks of power producers like Wistra, Constellation Energy, and NRG Energy have surged due to the massive growth in electricity demand [4] ETF Analysis - XLU (State Street) is the most popular utilities ETF with $225 billion in assets and an expense ratio of 8 basis points [7] - Other passively managed ETFs like VPU, FUY, and IDU track similar indexes and offer similar performance [9][10] - One actively managed ETF has outperformed, yielding about 32% this year, compared to 18-21% for other ETFs and a little more than 17% for the S&P 500 index [12][13]