New York, Jan 26, 2026, 15:47 ET — Regular session
- Shares of Constellation Energy slipped in afternoon trading following a turbulent month for U.S. power producers.
- A deep freeze gripping the eastern U.S. rattled wholesale power markets and put grid operators on high alert.
- Traders are gearing up for the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement scheduled for later this week.
Shares of Constellation Energy Corporation slid 1.2% to $285.66 on Monday, lagging behind a generally stronger U.S. equity market.
Winter Storm Fern is putting heavy strain on the eastern U.S. power grid, causing outages and sending spot power prices soaring. On Sunday, PJM Interconnection—the country’s largest regional grid—reported nearly 21 gigawatts of generation outages. As a result, spot prices in parts of the East and Mid-Atlantic surged into the hundreds of dollars per megawatt-hour, a key electricity measurement.
Cold weather is pushing fuel costs higher for gas-fired generators, adding pressure to near-term margins. U.S. natural gas futures for the front month jumped roughly 15%, settling at $6.075 per million British thermal units—the highest close since December 2022, according to Reuters. PJM expects outages totaling 22.4 GW on Monday. “The risk isn’t over, with sustained cold lingering behind the storm,” said Matthew Palmer, head of Americas Gas Research at S&P Global Energy. Reuters
Wall Street is bracing for a week packed with mega-cap earnings and a Federal Reserve decision due Wednesday. “Investors are cautiously optimistic,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, told Reuters, with markets buoyed by gains in a select group of major tech stocks. Reuters
Shares of U.S. power producers showed a split performance. Vistra dipped roughly 0.9%, while NRG Energy inched higher by about 0.2%.
Constellation grabbed attention after finalizing its Calpine acquisition on Jan. 7, broadening its reach with a bigger natural gas and geothermal portfolio alongside nuclear power. “Constellation is stepping up to power America’s growth when our nation’s demand for energy is surging,” CEO Joe Dominguez said at the time. Constellation
Traders face a real-time challenge: price surges can boost generators who keep running, yet outages or fuel shortages can wipe out gains just as fast. Firms holding large retail portfolios risk getting caught if they need to purchase power at high spot prices to meet customer demand.
Constellation’s shares have taken a sharp hit this January, falling roughly 22% since the close on Jan. 2. They’re also down about 16% from their Jan. 7 closing price, according to historical data.
The storm’s impact on earnings isn’t clear-cut. It hinges on how much generation holds up during peak demand and how much output is sold at fixed prices compared to what’s left exposed to spot markets.
Regulatory hurdles linked to Calpine still linger in the background. In December, Constellation struck a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that involved divestitures designed to address competition issues, Reuters reported.
Traders are zeroing in on a couple of key events: Tuesday’s forecasted peak demand in PJM amid the ongoing cold snap, and Wednesday’s Fed announcement followed by the press briefing. On another front, Constellation is slated to report earnings on Feb. 17, per Nasdaq—though the site flags that the date is algorithm-generated, not officially confirmed by the company.
