While everyone screams about AI chips, a different sector just hit fresh 52-week highs.
And nobody’s talking about it.
The ETF tracking this sector ripped 112% in the past year.
Even more interesting: the market wrote off these stocks years ago.
But in 2026, this beaten-down sector is colliding with the biggest wave of demand in our lifetime.
I’m ready to ride the momentum…
This is a global catalyst.
And there’s one stock at the top of my watchlist…
Solar Stocks
The Invesco Solar ETF (NYSEARCA: TAN) just printed new 52-week highs.
TAN holds 43 individual solar names, with First Solar at roughly 9.81% of the portfolio, Nextracker at 9.49%, and Enphase Energy at 5.36%.
TAN was sitting in the mid-$30s last summer. Now it’s making new highs above $60 per share.
But solar stocks have lagged for a long time because the real-world sector has slow adoption. The technology is still fairly inefficient compared to traditional alternatives.
So what happened?
Well… global data centers consumed roughly 415 TWh of electricity in 2024. The International Energy Agency projects that number will more than double to around 945 TWh by 2030.
In the U.S. alone, data center power demand is projected to grow 133% by 2030.
These data centers are the spine of every major AI model being trained by a mega corporation.
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Meta
- OpenAI
They’re all racing to build computing capacity at a pace the current energy grid was never designed to handle.
So where does the power come from?
The IEA projects renewables will grow at a 22% annual rate through 2030, meeting nearly half of the additional demand from data centers.
Read that again… roughly half of the new electricity needed to power the AI revolution will come from renewables.
Solar sits at the center of that buildout.
And solar stocks were largely left for dead while every dollar chased Nvidia.
The Iran Wildcard
Then there’s the second catalyst…
The Iran war that started on February 28 triggered the largest oil supply disruption in history, according to the IEA.
Brent crude surged more than 55% at its peak (for the time being). The Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20% of the world’s seaborne oil and LNG flows, has been functionally restricted for weeks.
Just look at a chart of United States Oil Fund (NYSE: USO) since March began:
When one major energy source gets stressed, every other source becomes more valuable.
Domestic, decentralized power looks a lot more attractive when global shipping lanes are getting hit by missile strikes.
My #1 Solar Stock To Watch Right Now
Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) reported earnings before the open on May 7.
And the results were a blowout.
The company posted Q1 EPS of $0.62 versus a Zacks consensus estimate of a $0.05 loss. That’s an earnings surprise of +1,444.90%.
Revenue came in at $722.23 million for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate by 6.96% and growing from $504.27 million a year ago.
Plus, RUN has now beaten consensus EPS estimates four quarters in a row.
The stock spiked 22% on the news.
The setup gets more interesting from there…
RUN was down roughly 26.9% year-to-date heading into earnings. This is a beaten-down stock that seems to have turned a corner.
This company is crushing expectations after the market gave up on it, it’s sitting inside a sector making new highs, and two massive macro catalysts are pushing it in the same direction.
How I’d Approach This Setup
This is what I’m watching:
- Does RUN hold above the pre-earnings consolidation level on the pullback?
- Does TAN keep grinding higher, or does it pull back toward its prior breakout zone?
- Are sympathy plays like Enphase, First Solar, and Nextracker showing similar strength?
I’m waiting for confirmation.
If RUN finds support and the sector holds, it’s time to make a trade. If it breaks down, I move on without losing a dime.
The pattern is forming. Now we wait to pull the trigger.
Be good (and be good to others),
Ben Sturgill
*Past performance does not indicate future results. Not typical.