(Bloomberg) — US manufacturer GE Vernova Inc. showered shareholders with rewards in the latest sign that demand for new natural gas-fired power will remain robust for years into the future.

The maker of electric generation equipment doubled its dividend, increased its scope for share buybacks and increased earnings projections at its investor day in New York on Tuesday.

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GE Vernova has benefited from soaring US demand for electricity, driven by data centers, artificial intelligence and overall electrification of the economy. Shares of the company, which which spun off from General Electric Co. in early 2024, have risen about 86% this year and were up about 5.7% in late trading Tuesday.

“AI is a real driver for us right now, but it isn’t the only driver,” Chief Executive Officer Scott Strazik said in an interview Tuesday. “We’re going to generate a lot of cash and that’s going to give us a chance to play offense.”

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company estimated future earnings beyond 2028 to $52 billion from $45 billion and raised its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin for the same period to 20% from 14%.

GE Vernova, one of this year’s best performers in the S&P 500, also raised its per share quarterly dividend to 50 cents and increased share repurchase authorization to $10 billion from $6 billion. The company expects to grow its total backlog from $135 billion to about $200 billion by the end of 2028, which will include a doubling of its electrification segment backlog to $60 billion from $30 billion.

The company forecast stronger-than-expected profit margins in its power and electrification businesses but slightly weaker performance from its wind segment. The former are expected to generate adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margins of 22% each by 2028, while the latter is seen yielding 6%.

Fears of an AI bubble, and what that would mean for the energy sector, have roiled tech and power company shares in recent months. Citing GE Vernova’s projections, Strazik pushed back on those concerns.

Strazik said he doesn’t think the tech or power sectors were in any kind of bubble. He said the fourth quarter of this year will be the company’s biggest selling to hyperscalers and he’s confident that will increase even more next year. “The magnitude is certainly growing,” he said.