Quanta Services: The Backbone of the AI Data Center Push

Key Points

• The data center market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2% through 2030.  
• Quanta Services provides electric infrastructure services coveted by the data center industry.  
• The company has a record $36 billion backlog, demonstrating the high demand that led management to raise its full-year 2025 financial guidance last quarter.

Data centers continue to face heightened scrutiny, from the burgeoning agentic AI services they cater to and the increased strain they place on the U.S. power grid. But no matter how you feel about the industry, one thing is clear: The data center market is amid explosive growth. 

According to consultancy firm Grand View Research, the global data center market is forecast to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.2% from 2025 to 2030. Much of that acceleration is attributable to the growing demand for and rapid adoption of AI, machine learning, cloud computing, and other digital transformation technologies. 

In the United States, which accounts for 40% of the global market, data centers are expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.7% through the start of the next decade. This presents a pick-and-shovel opportunity for investors seeking exposure to an AI-adjacent business supporting that industry’s rapidly evolving infrastructure boom.

This Company Answers AI’s Expanding Infrastructure Needs 

Demand for AI data centers is undergoing unprecedented growth, and the companies supporting their development should see outsized demand and, in turn, outsized profits. 

One of those companies is Houston-based Quanta Services NYSE: PWR, a $65.77 billion market cap firm specializing in contracting for the design, installation, and maintenance of critical infrastructure networks. 

Quanta Services’ full-spectrum offerings include engineering, procurement, and construction solutions for high-voltage power transmission, distribution, and substation construction. Those services have applications in various industries, such as electric power, oil and gas (e.g., pipeline and midstream facility installation), and communications (e.g., fiber optic network build-outs). 

Within the company’s electric power segment, Quanta Services supports electric infrastructure services for utility companies, transmission developers, and renewable energy providers. That range of offerings has resulted in the industrials stock having a strong year in 2025, with shares of PWR up nearly 40% and outpacing the sector, which has performed fourth best among all 11 of the S&P 500.

However, the company's work with AI data centers makes the 28-year-old firm increasingly appealing to investors. That line of business has contributed to Quanta Services’ all-time high backlog of nearly $36 billion, which was announced alongside 21.1% year-over-year (YOY) revenue growth when the company reported Q2 earnings on July 31. 

Specifically, CEO Duke Austin noted in his earnings call comments that they are concerned about their role in expanding the data center. Austin pointed out that to take a commanding lead in the AI race, “you have to have power, and we’re right in the middle of the infrastructures on both largest TAMs (total addressable markets) that create the AI of the future.” 

Quanta Services' Strong Financials Suggest More Growth Ahead

Beyond being at the center of AI data center demand, the company’s role in the Grain Belt Express—America’s biggest electric power transmission line that will connect four U.S. grid regions across 800 miles spanning four states—recently resulted in Quanta Services and Kiewit Energy Group being awarded a combined $1.7 billion.

Between its legacy business segments and its expanding AI infrastructure services, the company raised its full-year 2025 financial guidance last quarter. Looking forward to 2026, that underlying financial strength is projected to continue, with the company’s earnings expected to grow 11.13% over the next year from $9.34 per share to $10.38 per share.

That is supported by Quanta Services’ notable growth in net income, which has grown from $486 million in 2021 to $905 million in 2024, representing a more than 86% increase. Perhaps more impressively, the company’s net cash from operating activities increased by nearly 258% from $582 million to $2.08 billion over the same period. 

Of course, earnings are rear-facing. But Wall Street seems to believe in Quanta Services' future. Of the 26 analysts covering the stock, 14 rate it a Buy and 12 rate it a Hold. Collectively, PWR receives a Moderate Buy rating.  

Yet what may be most telling is Quanta Services' backing from smart money. A staggering 90% of the company’s float is currently held by institutional owners, who have injected $8.66 billion into the stock over the past 12 months, compared to $4.92 billion in outflows. 

At the same time, short interest is a modest 3.53%. As the company looks to build upon last quarter’s 21% YOY rise in revenue, investors looking to add an ancillary AI stock to their portfolios should consider doing so in the lead-up to Quanta Services’ next earnings call on Oct. 30.