3 Cloud Build-Out Stocks Behind the AI Infrastructure Boom

Key Points

• Prologis shifts focus to AI data centers, offering real estate for next-gen infrastructure.
• Super Micro builds high-performance AI servers with strong NVIDIA alignment.
• Arista Networks supplies ultra-fast networking gear essential to AI data center speed.

Investors continue to invest in technology stocks, particularly those with an artificial intelligence (AI) theme. However, for some investors, their choice of stocks to buy may be based on FOMO (fear of missing out) rather than allowing a deeper understanding of what’s happening in the tech space to inform their investment decisions.

One area to consider is how cloud computing is changing. The idea of accessing data and running applications via the internet, as opposed to local computers and servers, is over 20 years old. However, it’s evolving fast to meet the needs of AI.

This boils down to infrastructure. Data centers have been around for decades. However, generative (and now agentic) AI and machine learning require more of everything (power, cooling, network speed, and density).

In many cases, hyperscalers like Microsoft Corp. NASDAQ: MSFT, Amazon.com Inc. NASDAQ: AMZN and Meta Platforms Inc. NASDAQ: META can’t just retrofit existing data centers. They have to be created from the ground up.

This is the “cloud build-out," and it will take years and billions in capital expenditures to make it a reality. That's an investable theme every investor can understand and profit from today. Here are three companies supplying the building blocks of this new infrastructure.

Prologis Lets You Invest in AI From the Ground Up

The case for Prologis Inc. NYSE: PLD is easy to understand. The first step in building a next-generation data center is finding land with power access and necessary permitting. Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate.

In its latest earnings report, Prologis announced a shift in focus to data centers and AI infrastructure hubs. The company is repurposing logistics-adjacent land and buying new property in power-rich areas that will support the needs of hyperscalers.

PLD stock is up 4.1% in 2025 and continues to consolidate following its earnings on July 16. Analysts have a consensus price target of $119.67, which could provide an additional 8.75% upside in addition to a dividend yield of 3.67%. Plus, at 16x forward earnings, the company is attractively valued compared to its historical averages.

Super Micro Is a Server Specialist Powering AI Workloads

Putting NVIDIA Corp. NASDAQ: NVDA seems too easy. However, NVIDIA provides a good starting point for looking at Super Micro Computer Inc. NASDAQ: SMCI. The company designs and builds high-performance server and storage systems tailored for AI, cloud, and enterprise computing.

This includes NVIDIA GPUs, which are the current gold standard for generative AI workloads.

Super Micro is growing rapidly with triple-digit revenue growth in recent quarters.

There is growing speculation that Meta Platforms, Inc. NASDAQ: META will award Super Micro a contract to provide cooling services for its new data centers.

This is a pure-play picks-and-shovels stock for the hardware that the cloud buildout will require. SMCI stock is up 69% in 2025, but investors should note that it is expensive to itself at around 27x forward earnings. Analysts give the stock a consensus price target of $42.89, which is 17% below its closing price on July 23.

Arista Provides the Network Backbone for the Cloud Buildout

Just like many specialists (electricians, plumbers, painters) are needed to construct a house, the same is true of data centers. Super Micro provides the compute layer, but Arista Networks Inc. NYSE: ANET provides the networking layer. This includes the high-speed networking equipment that allows servers to communicate with each other.

Arista already has contracts with companies such as Meta Platforms and Microsoft, making it the logical choice for these next-generation data centers. 

That positioning shows up in the company’s financials: Arista has high operating margins, a strong balance sheet, and consistent profitability.

ANET stock has increased 59% in the last three months. That’s not surprising given the billions of dollars in capital expenditures announced by the hyperscalers during that time.

More importantly, analysts are raising their price targets for the stock ahead of the company’s earnings in early August.