How to invest in AI power now—and what to avoid
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Utilities plan $1.4 trillion in capital expenditures through 2030, a 21% increase, driven by AI’s rising power demands.Global data center electricity demand is projected to double by 2030 to 945 terawatt-hours, with over 800 new centers in development.AI power infrastructure companies like GE Vernova (up 38%) and Vertiv (up 80%) have strong backlogs and high valuations.Tech is leading the market again as the war in Iran recedes and first-quarter earnings come in strong. It’s a great sign for companies supplying the industry’s insatiable thirst for power generation and infrastructure.Utilities plan to spend $1.4 trillion on capital expenditures through 2030, up 21% from estimates last year, according to the nonprofit PowerLines.
The rising tide bodes well for companies supplying gas turbines, cooling systems, electrical equipment, and utility services.Buying the stocks now means holding your nose on valuations. Turbine maker GE Vernova, for instance, trades at 43 times on 2027 consensus earnings estimates.
Nvidia, by contrast, is a bargain at 25 times.Yet avoiding the power stocks for being too pricey would have been a mistake. GE Vernova is up 38% this year.
Vertiv, which makes cooling systems, is ahead 80%. Our value-investing reflex says a stock at 40 times has had its day; the market says otherwise.For some perspective, we asked four portfolio managers for their views.
Their consensus: Hang onto the power stocks, use pullbacks to add to positions, and consider utilities that aren’t as volatile and trade cheaper.Utility capex is one of several signs that AI spending has plenty of runway. And the power can’t come fast enough.More than 1,300 hyperscaler data centers are operating
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