3 Stocks Riding the AI Data Center Buildout Wave

Key Points

• Using advanced HVAC and automation, Johnson Controls helps reduce energy costs and cooling loads in high-density AI data centers.
• American Tower enables faster delivery of AI services through its expanding edge data center and interconnect portfolio.
• Vertiv provides the liquid cooling and power infrastructure required for hyperscale-level AI workloads.

Earnings season follows a predictable rhythm. Investors have now heard from many companies fueling the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. This earnings season, hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms have reiterated or increased their planned data center investments for 2025, among the mega-cap technology stocks.

That coincides with a report from Grand Valley Research that forecasts the global data center market size to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.2% between 2025 and 2030. In dollar figures, that means it will grow from $347.60 billion in 2024 to $652.01 billion in 2030.

Investors can choose to invest in the mega-cap stocks listed above, and many would quickly add NVIDIA to that list. However, many investors are now turning to stocks that will benefit from this infrastructure spending.

This includes, but is not limited to, companies that are responsible for the cooling, connectivity, and power that data centers need. Here are three companies that are good options for investing in the data center buildout.

Mission-Critical Cooling and Energy Systems

Johnson Controls International plc NYSE: JCI plays a vital behind-the-scenes role in data center infrastructure. AI chips such as NVIDIA’s H100 and AMD’s MI300 generate significantly more heat than traditional CPUs, which raises the bar for cooling performance and efficiency.

That’s why data center operators are under increasing pressure to reduce power usage effectiveness (PUE), a key metric for energy efficiency.

JCI’s industrial-grade HVAC systems are designed for the high-density rack environments found in modern AI data centers. In addition, the company's OpenBlue digital platform integrates AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage operations, including energy usage, temperature, and airflow in real-time, which helps operators reduce costs and maintain uptime.

JCI stock dropped approximately 7.5% heading into its earnings report on July 29. However, the stock appears to have found support around its 50-day simple moving average.

The consensus price target is $105.17, but several analysts have been raising their price targets after the earnings report. That may be attributable to 17% earnings growth projections in the next 12 months.

However, with a neutral relative strength indicator (RSI) and the company’s valuation looking slightly overvalued, investors may want to wait for a pullback before starting or adding to a position.

Providing the Global Connectivity Backbone

American Tower NYSE: AMT is a real estate investment trust that most investors know for being a key part of the 5G buildout. However, the company has been making aggressive investments in edge data centers and fiber interconnection assets.

In this way, the company complements the centralized buildouts of hyperscalers by providing the last-mile and interconnection infrastructure needed to bring AI services to life faster, closer, and more reliably than traditional cloud architectures alone.

AMT stock is up 15.7% in 2025. That’s a welcome reversal for many long-term investors who have seen the stock deliver a negative total return in the last five years. That includes the company’s dividend, which pays an attractive 3.21%.

American Tower reported slight beats on the top and bottom lines in its July 29 earnings report. However, the stock’s forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 20x makes the stock attractively valued. Analysts have a consensus price target of $243.88, which gives investors about 15% upside from its current price.

Hyperscaler Spending Supports Long-Term Bull Case

Vertiv Holdings Co. NYSE: VRT has been one of the best-performing industrials stocks over the last five years, delivering an 824% gain for investors. Currently trading at around $140 as of now, it’s close to the consensus price target of $145.54. That would put the stock below its 52-week high. Investors are right to wonder if its best days are behind it.

Like many stocks, VRT depends on many factors. In the short term, it looks overvalued and could be ready for a pullback. However, as the earnings reports from the hyperscalers made clear, demand for the company’s liquid cooling technology (among other things) is likely to accelerate in the coming years.

That would seem to be backed up by Vertiv’s July earnings report, in which the company delivered comfortable beats on the top and bottom lines.

That said, investors who don’t have a position in VRT stock may want to wait for a pullback before getting involved. The stock has been finding consistent support around its 20-day simple moving average (SMA).

That means the 2.8% drop in the five days ending August 4 may be about done. However, the RSI is signaling overbought conditions, which could mean that investors should wait for a confirmed uptrend before buying.