Two of the top U.S. electric utility companies are now poised to join forces and create the world’s largest regulated utility business. On Monday, May 18, NextEra Energy announced that it plans to buy Dominion Energy through an all-stock deal worth nearly $67 billion. 

Key Takeaways:

• NextEra Energy (NEE) and Dominion Energy (D) have announced intentions for a merger. NextEra will buy Dominion via an all-stock deal to the price of about $67 billion.
• The deal will make NextEra the third largest energy company. It comes at a time when the AI buildout is creating compelling opportunities for utilities.
• Many utility-forward strategies, like the State Street Utilities Select SPDR ETF (XLU), are well-positioned to benefit from this merger.

Based in Virginia, Dominion Energy possesses a market cap of over $50 billion and operates the biggest data center market in north Virginia. Meanwhile, NextEra, operating out of Florida, is the largest developer of renewable energy within the United States. The company has a market cap beyond $190 billion, and is the largest utility company within the S&P 500.

Once completed, the deal will create a company — which plans to continue operating under NextEra’s name — with a market cap of around $249 billion. This will make NextEra the third largest energy company, behind ExxonMobil and Chevron. 

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“This is a historic moment for our two companies and for the states we are privileged to serve. Electricity demand is rising faster than it has in decades,” said John Ketchum, chairman, president, and ceo of NextEra Energy. “Projects are getting larger and more complex. Customers need affordable and reliable power now, not years from now. We are bringing NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy together because scale matters more than ever— not for the sake of size, but because scale translates into capital and operating efficiencies. It enables us to buy, build, finance and operate more efficiently, which translates into more affordable electricity for our customers in the long run.”

NextEra’s Deal Could Bode Well for XLU

The long-term implications of this deal should not be lost on investors. Not only is NextEra becoming an even larger provider of electricity, it’s timely expansion comes amid the ongoing AI buildout. Utilities will play a critical role in meeting this increasing energy demand.

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Investment strategies that bear exposure to NextEra and Dominion are likely going to be in a good spot following this announcement, and the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) is no exception. In fact, the fund holds both companies with NextEra as its top holding. As of May 15, NextEra accounted for 14.32% of XLU’s portfolio.

As one may expect from the fund’s title, XLU’s goal is to provide focused exposure to the utilities sector of the S&P 500. This is done through tracking the Utilities Select Sector Index. 

Utilities were already a good sector to consider amplifying exposure to. As mentioned before, this sector is well-positioned to benefit from expansion within the AI space. Now, with NextEra becoming even more of a juggernaut in the energy field, XLU lets investors tap into the company’s momentum while remaining diversified through the rest of its portfolio. 

Even before the NextEra deal started making headlines, XLU was providing exciting results thus far this year. As of April 30, 2026, the fund is up 10.48% year to date.

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