Headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, NextEra Energy provides generation, transmission, and distribution services. NEE has about 37,000 MW of total generating capacity with 33,000 MW of wind and solar generations. The company also operates seven nuclear plants. The company's largest electric utility is FPL, one of the largest vertically integrated electric utilities in the U.S., with approximately 5.8 million customer accounts that generate about two-thirds of earnings. NextEra Energy Resources, a nonregulated subsidiary, is the largest U.S. generator of wind and solar power and a leader in battery storage. Its affiliated entities include NextEra Energy Partners LP, which trades as NEP. Argus Research does not cover NEP. The company's focus is on electricity and renewable generation. In 2H23, management entered into agreements to sell its Texas and Pennsylvania pipeline businesses and sell its gas utility, FCG. NextEra Energy has a generation presence in 38 states and four Canadian provinces and is ahead of many peers in the use of renewable generation, especially wind. The company's fuel mix is heavily weighted toward natural gas (48%), followed by nuclear (23%) and wind (23%). Coal accounts for only 2% of overall generation. The shares are a component of the S&P 500. The current market capitalization is $157 billion.

While the stock market has had a decent run, the real action of late has been in commodities. In the space, natural gas (UNG) soared over 15% in the week ended May 17, having come back from depressed levels not seen since 2020. Silver (SLV) surged almost 12%, platinum (PPLT) popped 9%, and copper (CPER) spiked over 8%. Most of these moves occurred at the end of the week, on optimism about China's growth. In addition, many commodities will benefit from EVs, the grid, data centers, and munitions. Meanwhile, gold hit a minor new closing high on Friday of that week and is approaching one of our intermediate-term targets of $2,500.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

NextEra Energy's regulated utility, Florida Power & Light, is the largest rate-regulated utility in Florida. The utility distributes power to nearly 6 million customer accounts in Florida and owns 34 gigawatts of generation. FP&L contributes roughly 70% of NextEra's consolidated operating earnings. NextEra Energy Resources, the renewable energy segment, generates and sells power throughout the United States and Canada with more than 30 GW of generation capacity, including natural gas, nuclear, wind, and solar.