Five years ago, Vistra Corp. $VST shares were trading around $22–$23 each. Today, it's closed at $152.97—a very strong 617% gain that comes from the massive increase in electricity demand (especially from data centers and AI), favorable power prices, and the company’s large fleet of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery storage assets across key U.S. markets. The chart shows a long, quiet base period through 2023, followed by an explosive move higher starting in 2024 and continuing strongly into 2026. The 52-week high of $219.82 (reached earlier in the run) proves how far the stock has already climbed.

In simple terms, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past five years is approximately 46.8%. That's the average yearly increase—calculated by raising the total growth factor to the 1/5 power and subtracting 1. It means your money would have grown by roughly 47% per year on average.

Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) fits this high-growth story well: Invest $500 every month for five years, totaling $30,000. This buys more shares during any temporary pullbacks and fewer during sharp rallies, which helps manage the natural volatility that comes with fast-moving utility/energy stocks. Projecting forward at the same historical CAGR, with a monthly growth rate of about 3.25% from $152.97, your position compounds powerfully.

Build your portfolio, one day at a time.
Get our daily 5-year horizon picks sent to your inbox. Subscribe here.

After 60 months, your portfolio could reach approximately $88,500. That's a gain of about $58,500—a 195% return on your invested capital. The earliest contributions get the strongest benefit from compounding, while later investments still capture very substantial overall growth.

This projection follows historical performance, which does not guarantee future results. Vistra is a utility/power generation company heavily exposed to electricity prices, natural gas costs, weather patterns, regulatory changes, and the pace of data center/AI-driven power demand. The current P/E ratio of 55.53 reflects very high growth expectations, and the 0.59% dividend yield is modest as the company reinvests heavily.

With a $51.83B market cap and the 52-week high of $219.82 still visible on the chart, VST remains one of the standout performers in the power generation space. If you're comfortable with the risks and believe in continued strong electricity demand and Vistra’s ability to execute, DCA gives you a disciplined way to participate without trying to time the market. Your consistent $500 monthly investments could build a very meaningful position by 2031.

Ready to keep the lights on?