AI Power Stocks Plunge... Over 2 Trillion Won Vanished in a Day

NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG), a U.S. power generation and retail company, saw its shares tumble 6.26% on the New York Stock Exchange on the 15th, closing at $126.29. In a single day, approximately $1.5 billion in market value—equivalent to roughly ₩2.2 trillion—was wiped out, leaving its market capitalization at about $26.6 billion (around ₩37 trillion).

Earlier this month, NRG reported first-quarter 2026 earnings that showed revenue growth but a decline in net income, falling short of market expectations. That underperformance, combined with the burden of aggressive share repurchases and elevated leverage, has exerted downward pressure on the stock. In March, affiliates of LS Power sold 14.3 million NRG shares in a block trade at $164 per share, and NRG repurchased part of the stake at the same price. The roughly $2.3 billion transaction underscored concerns over share supply and major-shareholder sell-off risk.

As an integrated power company operating across the U.S. and Canada, NRG both generates and retails electricity, supplying millions of homes and businesses—particularly in Texas and the Northeast—and expanding long-term power contracts with large consumers such as data centers. Buoyed by its acquisition of LS Power’s generation assets and ongoing share buybacks, NRG has been viewed as a potential beneficiary of AI-driven power and data-center demand. However, earnings volatility and news of significant stake sales by major shareholders now represent variables likely to amplify future share-price fluctuations.