Sector-specific investing can help you broaden and diversify your portfolio. But each sector comes with a unique assortment of benefits and risks.
What are energy stocks?
Energy stocks fit into the energy sector of the stock market — one of 11 sectors defined by the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). Companies in the energy sector focus on the location, mining and production of oil, coal and natural gas.
What subcategories are included in this sector?
Companies that fall within the energy sector can be sorted into the following subcategories:
Oil and gas. At the start of the supply chain, we find companies responsible for drilling and producing oil and natural gas.
Pipelines. These mid-stream providers transport oil and natural gas from the drilling site to their respective refineries.
Mining. Mining companies produce coal that helps fuel power plants.
Renewable energy. Those that produce wind and solar energy are considered renewable energy providers.
Chemicals. This subcategory is comprised of companies responsible for refining oil and gas into specialty chemicals.
How to invest in the energy sector
There are two ways to invest in the energy sector: individual stocks or exchange-traded funds. Individual stocks are highly liquid but offer limited exposure. Sector-tracking ETFs are less risky than stocks and offer portfolio diversification but typically pay lower dividends and have higher fees. You’ll need a brokerage account to invest in stocks and ETFs. Here’s a quick look at the process:
Select a platform. Explore your brokerage account options to find the platform that best matches your investment goals.
Open an account. Most brokerage accounts can be opened online. You’ll need to fund your account before you can make trades.
Pick your securities. Use your platform’s research tools to search for stocks and ETFs by sector.
Place an order. Once you’ve found a security you’d like to purchase, place your order.
Track your investments. Monitor your investments by logging into your brokerage account.
What stocks are in the energy sector?
See how the following stocks are performing, and view details like market capitalization, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio and dividend yield.
Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company operates in Delaware Basin located in southeast New Mexico and west Texas, Eagle Ford located in North America, Anadarko Basin located in western Oklahoma, Williston Basin located in North Dakota, and Powder River Basin located in Wyoming. Devon Energy Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Diamondback Energy, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas company, acquires, develops, explores, and exploits unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas, the United States. The company primarily focuses on the development of the Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations of the Midland Basin; and the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations of the Delaware Basin, both of which are part of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico. Diamondback Energy, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.
ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. Its Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas. The Energy Products segment offers fuels, aromatics, and catalysts, as well as licensing services. Its Chemical Products segment manufactures and sells olefins, polyolefins, and intermediates. The Specialty Products segment offers finished lubricants, basestocks, waxes, synthetics, elastomers, and resins. It is also involved in the manufacture, trade, transport, and sale of crude oil, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemicals, and other specialty products; and pursuit of lower-emission and business opportunities, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, lower-emission fuels, Proxxima resin systems, carbon materials, low-carbon data center, and lithium. In addition, the company offers aviation fuel. It sells its products under the Exxon, Esso, and Mobil brands. The company was formerly known as Exxon Mobil Corporation and changed its name to ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation in July 2026. ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Spring, Texas.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in North America. It operates through Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2 segments. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas gasification, liquefaction, and storage facilities. The Products Pipelines segment owns and operates refined petroleum products, and crude oil and condensate pipelines; and associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix facilities. The Terminals segment owns and/or operates liquids and bulk terminals that stores and handles various commodities, including gasoline, diesel fuel, renewable fuel and feedstocks, chemicals, ethanol, metals, and petroleum coke; and owns tankers. The CO2 segment produces, transports, and markets CO2 to recovery and production crude oil from mature oil fields; owns interests in/or operates oil fields and gasoline processing plants; and operates a crude oil pipeline system in West Texas, as well as owns and operates RNG and LNG facilities. The company was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Holdco LLC and changed its name to Kinder Morgan, Inc. in February 2011. Kinder Morgan, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Finder’s investments experts analyze all S&P 500-listed stocks to curate a list of the best performing stocks. The companies are ranked in average order of both their year-to-date and month-over-month performance.
Why invest in energy stocks?
Energy is a resource the world depends on. The energy market is massive, and for good reason — this resource has been in high demand for many years. And even accounting for the shift towards clean energy, the world is still decades away from being free from oil, coal and gas. Profitability in the energy sector is largely tied to the price of crude oil, but stock prices are typically stable and frequently pay dividends. Income from energy stocks may also be tax-sheltered — an attractive incentive for investors.
What unique risks does the energy sector face?
Politics play a sizable role in the energy sector. If companies explore for energy resources in unstable territories, projects are at risk of being sidelined or halted in the face of political turmoil. Incorrect geological reports, oil spills and accidents can be costly for investors. This sector isn’t without its risks and investors should weigh the benefits against the drawbacks before allocating funds.
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The energy sector offers the opportunity for profit but carries a unique set of risks. The best way to invest depends on your portfolio and your investment goals. Review your trading platform options to find the brokerage account that best meets your needs.
Frequently asked questions
Some of the biggest companies in the energy sector include Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Kinder Morgan, Schlumberger and Shell.
Companies within the energy sector produce and distribute both nonrenewable and renewable energy, including petroleum, natural gas, gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, nuclear energy, hydropower, biofuels, wind power and solar power.
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Shannon Terrell is a lead writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet and a former editor at Finder, specializing in personal finance. Her writing and analysis on investing and banking has been featured in Bloomberg, Global News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates and Black Enterprise. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and English literature from the University of Toronto Mississauga.
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