3 Natural Gas Stocks to Buy as AI Energy Demand Skyrockets

Natural gas stocks are heating up in 2026, as the sector looks poised to benefit from powerhouse AI demand, especially with ample energy grid capacity to fuel AI’s growth.

It’s all about data storage, as hyperscale data centers proliferate to support AI training and inference workloads. That takes significant energy and requires growth, as electricity demand is accelerating faster than many utility providers expected.

In the U.S. today, it’s natural gas that stands out as the marginal fuel source keeping the grid stable.

As usual, the data tells the story.

Data center electricity demand is powering natural gas consumption. Right now, that translates to about 0.5 Bcf/d of AI-related natural gas demand this year, leading to a broader 2% increase in US power-sector gas demand.

Data center energy demand and energy supply are akin to that of meeting the power grid demand of a small city. That scenario is creating an underappreciated, so far, investment story in 2026: AI’s growth appears to be drifting downstream into natural gas producers and LNG exporters.

AI infrastructure is extremely power-intensive, noted Paul Sankey, founder of Sankey Research, in a recent research note. “Until nuclear and renewables scale meaningfully, natural gas is the dispatchable backbone of U.S. electricity generation,” he noted.

Which natural gas looked primed to pump up share prices thanks to burgeoning energy demand? These three energy plays fit the bill.

EQT Corp.

The company operates primarily in the Marcellus and Utica shales, positioning it close to key northeastern demand hubs. As AI-driven data centers expand in regions like Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio, which already host major server clusters with more to come, close proximity to supply matters, and that’s where EQT shines.

Appalachian gas remains among the lowest-cost supply globally, noted Neal Dingmann, energy analyst at William Blair. If power demand rises structurally due to AI, producers like EQT are positioned to benefit from tighter domestic balances. Dingmann currently has a Buy rating on EQT shares.

EQT’s updated earnings are expected to roll out February 17, and the company looks set to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues. Consensus analyst expectations on the stock show quarterly earnings of $0.76 per share for the quarter ending December, 2025, meaning a year-over-year change of +10.1%.

Meanwhile, revenues are expected to be $2.06 billion, up 13.3% from the year-ago quarter.

EQT also anticipates a significant increase in free cash flow, projecting a $250 million increase by fiscal year 2029 driven by new gas supply contracts and ongoing infrastructure projects. 

With an average price target of $68.33 between Stephens & Co., Barclays, and Bernstein, there’s an implied 19.51% upside for EQT Corp from the most-recent analyst ratings, according to Benzinga analysis.

Cheniere Energy

LNG has another card up its sleeve, with an AI angle. If, as expected, artificial intelligence accelerates domestic electricity use, it may also amplify global natural gas demand, particularly as other countries build data centers and AI infrastructure.

That’s a big deal to Cheniere and its shareholders. The company is the largest U.S. exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), shipping fuel to Europe and Asia. That results in long-term contracts that provide predictable revenue streams. Meanwhile, spot exposure benefits from global price spikes the market is seeing right now.

Consequently, as Europe reduces its dependence on Russian energy and Asian economies expand AI capacity, LNG export volumes are expected to rise over the next decade. That means Cheniere’s expansion projects should position it as a core beneficiary.

Analysts are on board, with Cheniere Energy’s price target raised to $266 from $257 at Scotiabank.

Kinder Morgan

Trading at $32 per share, Houston-based energy pipeline giant Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) has seen a surge in trading activity, with the stock up 13.5% over the past month.

Company management cites rising profits and geopolitical activity as the drivers of the share price upgrade. The company just announced a fourth-quarter profit boost as demand for natural gas accelerates. Profits were up $996 million for the quarter, up from $667 million in the previous year’s Q4 results. Revenues rose to $4.51 billion, up from $3.99 billion the prior year, and well ahead of the analyst consensus of $4.3 billion.

In addition to growing demand for natural gas, revenues are up, particularly for liquefied natural gas, due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Kinder Morgan also benefits from a $10 billion Q4 order backlog, most of which is tied to natural gas orders.

Stability is also a hallmark for KMI. While producers depend on commodity prices, pipeline operators generate steadier fee-based income. That fits Kinder Morgan ideally, as it operates one of the largest natural gas pipeline networks in North America, accounting for 40% of all natural gas transport. As utilities sign new long-term supply agreements to power data centers, pipeline utilization could increase.

Kinder Morgan has also done yeoman’s work in highlighting natural gas as a long-term growth engine, particularly as coal plants retire and renewables require backup generation.

Yet it’s the AI realm where KMI can really clean up. About 50% of the $10 billion order backlog comes from data center demand, as the power generation sector seeks more energy. That demand isn’t going away anytime soon.

Toss in a robust 3.7% dividend yield and nine consecutive years of rising dividends, and KMI sits on a profitable perch right now and should command attention from opportunity-minded investors.

AI is Changing the Natural Gas Landscape

For years, natural gas investing has been defined by cyclical oversupply and weather-driven price swings. AI now introduces a different market catalyst: structural, non-weather-dependent demand growth from data centers.

Those centers already account for roughly 4% of U.S. electricity consumption, according to estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Analysts expect that figure to rise meaningfully over the next decade as generative AI workloads expand, and expect profits to flow into the coffers of already stable natural gas providers.