Which Is the Better Energy ETF for the AI Era: State Street's XLE or VanEck's Nuclear NLR?

State Street's XLE energy ETF delivered 39% returns over one year with a 0.08% expense ratio, significantly outperforming VanEck's NLR nuclear-focused ETF which posted an 8.1% loss. While XLE offers lower costs and higher liquidity through exposure to oil and gas giants, NLR provides a longer-term bet on nuclear power's role in powering AI data centers, despite near-term headwinds from uranium price pullbacks.