(This is ” The Best Stocks in the Market ,” brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — Today we’re revisiting a name you may have heard me talk about on TV before: NextEra Energy (NEE). I used to own it, but now I don’t have a position. A new breakout to multi-year highs appears to be on the horizon. NextEra is essentially two companies rolled into one. The first half of NEE is Florida Power and Light (FPL), a huge electric company that supplies electricity to the state of Florida. Given the state’s population explosion, this is a typical growth story for regulated utilities themselves. The other half of NextEra is the renewable energy business, which is quickly becoming one of the most exciting stories in the space. About multi-year highs… In the chart above, you can see that something big is forming over the past decade. These are monthly candlesticks and are currently renewing the highs from 5 years ago. The higher low formed during the 2025 swoon looks like a “handle” emerging from the late 2023 “cup” low. Let’s say you don’t like the pattern and think it’s voodoo. That’s all well and good, but can we at least accept this as a higher low to show that buyers weren’t thinking we’d get back to the mid-40s? They entered at $60 and reversed the stock. Be careful! Sean introduces some more utilities and the usual Best Stocks metadata overview. The top five stocks in relative strength on our list are all residents of the physical economy, including oil fields, auto parts, drilling rigs, tractors, and package delivery. It’s still a HALO world where analog companies have the best stock price movements. My HALO idea that I talked about here was published in the Wall Street Journal this past weekend. You can read it here (but don’t read it until you’ve finished this column – I swear!). OK, this is Sean. Finally, we will discuss risk management strategies. Sector Leaderboard As of February 23, there are 232 names on “The Best Stocks in the Market” list. Top Sector Rankings: Top Industries: Top 5 Stocks by Relative Strength: Sectors to Watch: Electric Utilities NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE): Sean — NextEra Energy is the world’s largest producer of renewable energy from wind and solar, with a portfolio of regulated Florida utilities and large unregulated clean energy operations (NextEra Energy Resources) This gives it slightly more climbing room than most utes. We wrote about this business and many other utilities in January, before earnings season began. Shortly after, NEE reported an 8% year-over-year increase in earnings, beating guidance and leading the company toward an ambitious long-term goal of compound annual EPS growth of over 8% through 2032. NEE pays a respectable dividend yield of 2.7%, which is a nice boon to the recent share price rise. Josh — Here we go again with a review of an amazing year. I’ve included a 10-year chart above so you don’t say, “I missed it!” At $92, both moving averages are trending up and approaching new recovery highs. The 50-day note rose to $84, and the 200-day note also started to rise to $78. Price has extended above both, indicating that this is a strong phase rather than a range. Pivot peaked at around 80 in January. From there, the stock regained the 200-day, consolidated on that, and accelerated past the mid-80-day. The $88 to $90 breakout area provides initial support. If this move is justified, it should not lose its level based on the closing price. RSI is 66, which allows you to check the strength without stretching. There is no bearish divergence or depletion. I prefer $80 as a pivot point for traders. Below that, 78 Years Old and 200 Days changes the topic of the entire trend. Below are the weekly closing prices, which are off the radar. Duke Energy Corp. (DUK): Sean — I wrote about this in October. Duke Energy is one of the nation’s largest regulated electric utilities, serving more than 8 million customers in the Carolinas, Florida and the Midwest. Prices have remained flat since then, but the story still resonates. Management is guiding for EPS growth of 5% to 7% per year, and the rate-based growth justifies the premium. Regulated returns compound in the mid-single digits, yields up to 3.4% and multiple reratings earn this stock a spot on our list. Josh — We misled you on this one because it turns out this breakout was fake and cannot be sustained at $130. This is why we work on risk management. This stop was a good one and kept us out of trouble for a while. Duke is back on the list of the market’s best stocks and looking to overcome its previous highs. Traders need to wait until they see acceptable volume. Considering how badly we failed last time, we couldn’t have predicted this time. Today I’m going to show you this as an example of why certain prices become meaningful to buyers and sellers. There are memories here. Please wait and see. I like the evidence that the RSI is steadily rising. FirstEnergy Corp. (FE): Sean — FE is a company we haven’t covered yet, but like the rest of the industry, it’s on the rise. FirstEnergy is a pure-play regulated electric utility serving Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York, and is driven entirely by rate-based growth. On the revenue side, FE had a strong year in 2025. Full-year EPS was up 7.6% to $2.55, at the high end of guidance, with revenue up 12% to $15.1 billion and capital expenditures up 25% year-over-year to $5.6 billion. The company expected 2026 EPS of $2.62 to $2.82 (7% growth), supported by a $36 billion five-year capital spending plan targeting 10% annualized growth. The company’s next financial results will be released on April 23rd, and the focus will be on the progress of its data center pipeline, which has more than doubled to 12.9 GW. Josh — I should have featured this instead of writing about Duke last fall. POW! This one-year chart is exactly what utilities want to see. Steady rise, no highs, no lows, no drama. At $50, we are breaking a new recovery high. The 50-day note is up at $46, and the 200-day is up at $44. Price is above both moving averages, indicating that institutions are accumulating rather than diversifying. The decline in December exceeded the 200-day rise and hit a new low. From there, I took my 50 days back and never looked back. The $48 area was previous resistance and should now act as initial support. If this breakout is real, it won’t take much time to break below that level. RSI is strong at 70. It is a momentum that expands rather than rolls over. I use $48 as a short term pivot for traders. Below that, the 200-day at $44 is the actual line. If the weekly close falls below that, the uptrend needs to be reevaluated. Conclusion: I am a seller on a meaningful break below the key support at $44. As long as it stays on top and the momentum continues, I’d like to keep it going. One last thing about FE — the 10-year chart is in the same setup as I pointed out above on NextEras — the big resistance level from 5 years ago is about to be challenged… I removed all the moving averages etc. so I can focus on the price. The pre-2020 uptrend was in the low $40s, the pandemic collapse was in the mid-$20s, and what was essentially a multi-year rebuild. From 2021 to 2024, this event was widespread and hovered between roughly $35 and $45 while digesting the entire episode. It has now reached $50, topping its entire post-2019 range. This is a structural breakout on the monthly chart. It’s not just a good quarter or a good quarter, it’s a change of government if this continues. The monthly RSI is 65, strong but not extreme. There is no prospect of a multi-year bearish divergence or blowout. If this breakout exceeds the previous ceiling of $45 to $47 on a monthly close basis, it would mark the first new cycle high for utilities in nearly a decade. It’s not something that just fades away. Disclosure: (none) All opinions expressed by CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, its parent or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated on television, radio, the Internet, or another medium. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice or a recommendation to purchase any securities or other financial assets. The Content is general in nature and does not reflect any individual’s unique personal circumstances. The above may not be appropriate for your particular situation. 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