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“Forget AI Hype — Natural Gas Is the Real Growth Story Investors Are Overlooking” 🚨🚨🚨

Tech stocks may still dominate the headlines, but if you’re looking for real growth, you might want to shift your gaze from silicon to shale.

Sure, companies like Palantir (PLTR $190.07, -1.83%), with a 63% year-over-year sales jump, or Robinhood Markets (HOOD $131.83, -2.98%), which saw sales double in the same period, have kept the growth narrative alive in tech. Even AppLovin (APP $591.44, -9.19%) impressed with nearly 70% revenue growth. But beneath the surface of Q3 earnings season, another sector has quietly surged to the top of the growth charts — and it’s one that’s been heating up for reasons beyond AI.

According to a FactSet analysis, natural gas producers have posted some of the most eye-popping sales growth figures this quarter. Leading the pack is Expand Energy (EXE $118.10, +2.84%), the result of a 2024 merger between Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy. The company reported $2.97 billion in Q3 revenue, up more than 350% year-over-year, making it the fastest-growing publicly traded energy company in the U.S.

That surge isn’t a fluke. A cold early start to winter, booming LNG exports to Europe, and renewed geopolitical uncertainty around Russian supply lines have all helped propel natural gas prices higher. U.S. gas benchmarks are now up more than 70% year-over-year, including a 50% spike in the past three months alone.

Meanwhile, the AI data center boom—ironically the same force driving tech stock valuations—has also fueled record energy demand. Power-hungry servers need electricity, and utilities are increasingly turning to natural gas to meet that demand.

That backdrop has lifted not just producers but the entire ecosystem: pipeline and processing heavyweight Oneok (OKE $69.26, +2.00%), distributor EQT Corp (EQT $60.68, +2.95%), and drillers like Diamondback Energy (FANG $149.86, +3.54%) and Coterra Energy (CTRA $26.85, +1.73%) have all ridden the wave.

As investors chase the next AI breakout, natural gas may quietly offer something even more valuable — real-world growth tied to real-world demand.