Between raising and lowering tariffs on imported goods, President Donald Trump made time recently to sign an executive order aimed at reviving America’s “beautiful clean coal industry.” The order outlines an ambitious strategy to reclassify coal as a critical mineral, reopen federal lands to mining, fast-track environmental reviews and provide federal support for coal-fired electricity and coal exports.

The move comes at a pivotal time. Demand for electricity is surging as the United States seeks to reindustrialize and build out new infrastructure to support artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, electric vehicles (EVs) and high-performance computing.

Shares of Peabody Energy — the largest U.S. coal producer, responsible for mining more than 104,000 short tons in 2023 — closed up 9.21 percent after the announcement, its best one-day increase since Nov. 6, 2024, the day after Trump won a second term. Over the longer term, however, Peabody’s stock has str