Market snapshot · September 18, 2026 close
S&P 500 (SPY) $761.69 −0.13% Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) $721.45 +0.60% Dow (DIA) $515.88 −0.48% Russell 2000 (IWM) $284.10 −0.52% 10-Year Treasury (IEF) $90.80 −0.49% Crude Oil (USO) $153.82 −0.93% Gold (GLD) $401.17 +0.74% US Dollar Index (UUP) $28.39 −0.02% Volatility (VXX) $17.76 +0.31% Semiconductors (SMH) $573.00 +2.17% Silver (SLV) $59.93 +1.65% Emerging Markets (EEM) $67.03 +0.19% Bitcoin (BTC) $81,055.00 +4.51% Ethereum (ETH) $2,630.20 +5.92% S&P 500 (SPY) $761.69 −0.13% Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) $721.45 +0.60% Dow (DIA) $515.88 −0.48% Russell 2000 (IWM) $284.10 −0.52% 10-Year Treasury (IEF) $90.80 −0.49% Crude Oil (USO) $153.82 −0.93% Gold (GLD) $401.17 +0.74% US Dollar Index (UUP) $28.39 −0.02% Volatility (VXX) $17.76 +0.31% Semiconductors (SMH) $573.00 +2.17% Silver (SLV) $59.93 +1.65% Emerging Markets (EEM) $67.03 +0.19% Bitcoin (BTC) $81,055.00 +4.51% Ethereum (ETH) $2,630.20 +5.92%
AEACapital Research

Independent student research — not an investment firm or financial advice

Competitive Comparison

Talen Energy vs. Vistra vs. Constellation Energy

Three ways to own the physical power constraint underneath the AI buildout — two direct holdings and the largest nuclear operator in the country, which I watch but don't own.

MetricTalen Energy (TLN)Vistra (VST)Constellation Energy (CEG)
PEG ratioN/A (not meaningfully calculable)0.61Not consistently disclosed across providers
Adj. EBITDA$2.025–2.225B (FY26 guidance, raised)$6.8–7.6B (FY26 guidance)$2.78B
Market cap$18.26B$48.64B$98.72B

PEG ratio, compared

VST
0.61
CEG
1.19

Same PEG ratio figures as the table above, plotted for a direct read. Bold = held in this book.

Market cap, P/E, PEG, EV/EBITDA, and capex sourced via public filings and financial-data aggregators (GuruFocus, StockAnalysis, company earnings releases), as of August 2026. PEG ratio sourced primarily from GuruFocus where available; different providers use different growth-rate assumptions, so figures elsewhere for the same stock can vary by several multiples. Gold-highlighted column(s) indicate the name(s) actually held in this book.

Why Talen and Vistra, not Constellation

Constellation is the largest nuclear power producer in the country and a real, well-run business, with a $98.72B market cap that dwarfs either of my two holdings. I hold Talen and Vistra instead partly because they're smaller and more directly levered to the specific data-center power-purchase-agreement story I'm betting on, and partly because I already own both and treat them as a single correlated thematic bet for risk purposes. Vistra's 0.61 PEG is a real, checkable reason the smaller name screens cheaply on a growth-adjusted basis even after its own run — though I hold both Talen and Vistra as a pair specifically because either one benefiting from data-center demand tightness would likely lift both together.