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Luke Kawa

Vistra and Oklo soar on nuclear energy deals with Meta to support data center boom

AI utility darling Vistra and zero-revenues nuclear company Oklo are flying higher on Friday after both companies announced deals with Meta.

Shares of both companies are up double digits as of 7:30 a.m. ET.

The social media giant signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Vistra, which will see it buy the output of three nuclear plants “to support Meta’s operations in the region.” Per the press release, more than 15% of the contracted capacity from this deal will constitute a new addition to the PJM region, home to the nation’s largest power grid and ground zero for rising electricity costs. The pact is reminiscent of Meta’s deal with Constellation Energy in June, another 20-year PPA of what’s generated from a nuclear plant in Illinois.

Meta’s agreement with Oklo “provides a mechanism for Meta to prepay for power and provide funding to advance project certainty for Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse development,” with the nuke company aiming for the first phase to be active as soon as 2030, also “to support Meta’s data centers in the region.”

The Mark Zuckerberg-led firm also struck a deal with privately held firm TerraPower to develop up to eight reactors and storage system plants in the US, the first of which is hoped to be delivered as soon as 2032.

“We believe this news is incrementally positive for the entire nuclear energy industry, including OKLO, as it reaffirms the commitment from hyperscalers to start leveraging new energy sources to fuel the AI Revolution with power being the biggest headwind to the industry,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote.

The Trump administration has touted nuclear energy as a way to solve its competing priorities in the development of artificial intelligence. George Pollack, senior US policy analyst at Signum Global Advisors, has argued that US leadership can realize only two of these three objectives: preside over an AI boom, boost fossil fuel production at the expense of renewables, and avoid household angst over high energy prices. However, the long lead times involved with developing and deploying nuclear power, as two of agreements show, are seemingly incompatible with short-term fixes. On the other hand, the ambitious, multiyear data center build-out plans envisaged by hyperscalers help explain why they’re willing to wait and plan ahead to lock down energy supply.

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Lululemon’s stretch getting tested: Stock plunges after after outlook is cut

Lululemon shares are down double digits in premarket trading after the company cut its full-year sales and profit outlook, overshadowing a Q1 beat and raising fresh concerns about the brand’s turnaround efforts.

The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenue to be flat to down 1%, compared with its prior forecast for 2% to 4% growth. Guidance for full-year diluted earnings per share was dragged down to a range of $10.95 to $11.15, below the company’s previous guidance of $12.10 to $12.30 and well below Wall Street’s estimate of $13.26.

Key numbers for Q1:

  • EPS of $1.69 vs. the $1.68 expected.

  • Revenue of $2.47 billion vs. the $2.43 billion expected.

The modest top-line beat masked a widening divergence between Lululemon’s geographic markets. While international revenue rose 22% overall with a 30% increase in Mainland China, the bigger problem remains North America, where revenue fell 5%.

Interim co-CEO and CFO Meghan Frank acknowledged during the earnings call that recent product rollouts underperformed. A highly anticipated yoga campaign failed to generate its expected “halo effect” across broader product lines.

Profitability metrics took a major hit, with gross margins contracting by 410 basis points to 54.2% due to mounting tariff costs and promotional markdowns. Operating income consequently fell 37% year over year to $276.9 million.

“We experienced spikes of negative commentary in the media and on social channels with regard to our brand, which had an impact on traffic and overall top-line performance,” Frank said during the earnings call. “And second, not all of our product launches have met our expectations. While we have had several successful launches so far this year, we have seen others as we start Q2 not generate the anticipated guest response.”

Lululemon’s valuation has already been steadily compressing for years. While it was once one of retail’s richly valued stocks, investors have been questioning whether the company can return to the double-digit growth era.

The results also arrive during a leadership transition. Lululemon announced back in April that former Nike executive Heidi O’Neill is set to take over as CEO in September, with investors looking to her to revive growth in North America and restore the brand’s growth.

As Lululemon faces both macroeconomic pressure and brand-specific challenges, its stock has dropped around 40% year to date.

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US job growth skyrocketed in May, blasting past expectations

The US economy added 172,000 jobs in the month of May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, sending 10-year Treasury yields higher.

The strong May job market surprised economists. Experts had predicted only 85,000 new jobs — just half the reported number. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, as expected.

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Job gains were buoyed by the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 70,000 jobs, as well as local government, healthcare, and education.

Both the March and April jobs reports were revised upward, making them collectively 93,000 higher than previously reported.

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