Green Investors Enjoy Huge Returns as Stock Market Powers Through Trump’s Attacks

The Bloom Energy Server, a solid oxide fuel cell electricity generation system manufactured by Bloom Energy Corp., stands outside the Tokyo Shiodome Building

(Bloomberg) — A dramatic rebound in clean-tech stocks has investors in the green economy hoping they can finally turn the page on years of punishing underperformance.

The timing is somewhat unexpected. Even as President Donald Trump has canceled many US government programs dedicated to boosting wind, solar and electric vehicles, green stocks have become one of this year’s most lucrative bets.

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Those equities have significantly outpaced most other stock indexes. The S&P’s main gauge tracking clean energy is up about 50% this year; the MSCI World Index has gained less than 20% in the same period.

Much of that development is pegged to a near-insatiable demand for energy to power the data centers feeding artificial intelligence. It also reflects China’s relentless drive to build out its low-carbon economy. For investors, those factors have outweighed Trump’s attacks on what he often calls the “green scam.”

Analysts at Jefferies have seized on the moment to declare this the “glory days” for green investors, even dedicating an entire client event to the idea.

Aniket Shah, global head of sustainability and transition strategy at Jefferies, says investors have been too distracted by Trump’s anti-green rhetoric in the US. Instead, they should look at the global level of capital piling into clean technologies: the $2 trillion dedicated to low-carbon spending last year is an “insane number” that indicates the green economy is enjoying a “wonderful moment,” according to Shah.

He points to a whole array of factors, including the stunning ascent of China’s green economy and its clean-tech exports to the developing world. And then there are the so-called hyperscalers driving AI, such as Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, all of which Shah says is “very much a sustainability story.”

The new mood of euphoria among green investors also comes with a layer of irony, however. Electricity demand tied to AI is on track to quadruple within a decade, and though renewables will play a huge role in powering that development, fossil fuels will also be a big part of the mix, pumping up emissions in the process, according to BloombergNEF.

So as world leaders prepare to gather at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, Shah says it’s important to acknowledge that even with this year’s green rebound, the planet is on track to miss not only the critical temperature threshold of 1.5C, but also 2C. “You have to keep both of those stories in your mind at the same time,” he said.