Energy · Profile from Energy Research Companion
Vistra
The Irving, Texas power company that is what was left of TXU after the largest leveraged buyout in history went bankrupt. The generating and retail arm of TXU was bought in October 2007 for ~$45bn including debt on the bet that Texas gas would stay near ~$7–8/MMBtu; shale gas pushed Henry Hub below ~$4/MMBtu and the holding company, Energy Future Holdings, filed for Chapter 11 in April 2014 with ~$40bn+ of debt. The unregulated half emerged in October 2016 as Vistra, a fleet of coal, gas and nuclear plants plus the TXU Energy retail brand that investors valued as a declining merchant business. Vistra then bought Dynegy (2018), lost ~$1.6bn in Winter Storm Uri (2021), bought Energy Harbor's three Ohio and Pennsylvania nuclear plants (closed March 2024) — and in 2024 the same kind of fleet was repriced as scarce firm power for data centres. Its shares were among the S&P 500's best performers that year (reported). By 2026 it had sold 20-year nuclear contracts from Comanche Peak (1,200 MW) and to Meta (2,609 MW), and agreed to buy another ~5.5 GW of gas plants. Merchant power is the clearest case in this book of the same assets being worth little and then a lot: what changed was not the plants but the price of firm capacity and who would sign for it.
At a glance
- Founded
- As TXU Corp.'s competitive businesses (Luminant generation, TXU Energy retail) inside Energy Future Holdings, 2007; as Vistra Energy on emergence from Chapter 11, 3 Oct 2016 (reported); renamed Vistra Corp. 2020
- Headquarters
- Irving, Texas
- Ownership / structure
- Public, NYSE: VST (listed May 2017, reported, verify); widely held by institutions; early post-bankruptcy holders included Apollo, Brookfield and Oaktree (reported, verify)
- Leadership (2026)
- Jim Burke (president and CEO since Aug 2022, previously COO and CFO); Kris Moldovan (CFO) (company; verify titles); Curt Morgan (CEO 2016–22)
- Fleet
- ~41 GW of generation (company claim, 2025, before Cogentrix): gas (combined-cycle and peakers in ERCOT, PJM, ISO-NE, NYISO, MISO and CAISO), ~6.4 GW of nuclear (Comanche Peak, Texas, two units; Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania; Davis-Besse and Perry, Ohio — capacities nameplate/net, verify), remaining coal (retirements scheduled to ~2027–28, verify), solar and batteries including Moss Landing, California
- Retail
- TXU Energy and other brands (Dynegy, Energy Harbor and Ambit legacy books); ~5m customers across Texas and other competitive states (company claim, verify)
- Scale
- 2026 adjusted EBITDA (ongoing operations) guidance $6.8–7.6bn, reaffirmed Aug 2026 with management expecting at or above the midpoint; guidance excludes the Cogentrix acquisition and the Meta PPAs; Q2 2026 adjusted EBITDA ~$1.77bn, net income ~$305m (company, 7 Aug 2026). Q3 2026 results due 6 Nov 2026
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- TXU leveraged buyout (2007); Energy Future Holdings Chapter 11 (2014); emergence as Vistra (2016); Dynegy merger (2018); Winter Storm Uri losses (2021); Energy Harbor nuclear and Vistra Vision (2024); the 2024 data-centre rerating and PJM capacity prices; Moss Landing battery fire (Jan 2025); Comanche Peak and Meta nuclear PPAs and the Cogentrix purchase (2025–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2007
TXU Leveraged Buyout
Acquisition (leveraged buyout) / financing
2014
Energy Future Holdings Chapter 11
Restructuring / bankruptcy
2016
Emergence as Vistra
Restructuring / spin-off from bankruptcy
2018
Dynegy Merger
Acquisition / merger (all-stock)
2021
Winter Storm Uri Losses
Disaster / hedging failure (operational and market event)
2024
Data Centre Rerating and PJM Capacity
Strategy pivot / market shift (repricing of an existing fleet; follow-on acquisitions)
2024
Energy Harbor Nuclear and Vistra Vision
Acquisition / reorganisation (creation of a subsidiary with minority investors, later bought out)
2025
Comanche Peak and Meta Nuclear PPAs
Offtake contracts (20-year PPAs) / acquisition
2025
Moss Landing Battery Fire
Accident or disaster (and the earlier technology bet behind it)