Key Points
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Cipher Digital continues to build its multigigawatt pipelines as AI demand surges.
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Sterling Infrastructure has built many data centers and has a vast backlog.
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Comfort Systems USA supplies HVAC solutions to data centers and has more than $14 billion in its backlog.
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The artificial intelligence trade isn’t just about chips. Massive amounts of physical infrastructure are required to support the technological side of this trend. Many companies are scrambling to build data centers capable of handling intense workloads, and amid this shift, these three under-the-radar companies are poised to benefit.
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Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »
1. Cipher Digital
Cipher Digital (NASDAQ: CIFR) builds AI data centers at scale. Its co-location business model involves building the data center sites and securing power supplies for them, while their hyperscaler tenants are responsible for bringing their own chips.
This strategy reduces Cipher Digital’s overhead on each data center, but results in lower annual contract values compared to what neocloud providers command. Even though Cipher Digital can’t price itself like a neocloud, it still earns high, long-term annual revenues from its tenants. And it’s growing fast.
For instance, the company expects its annualized net operating income to jump from $97 million this year to $686 million next year. It also tends to sign 10- to 15-year contracts with its tenants, which give it predictable cash flows.
Including the capacity in its development pipeline, Cipher Digital now has a 5.3-gigawatt portfolio, which includes a recently secured option on a 900-megawatt site near San Antonio. The company also recently began to develop lateral pipelines across multiple facilities. The move could add up to 2.5 gigawatts of power to Cipher Digital’s portfolio. In the press release announcing the move, CEO Typer Page said the initiative could help the company “unlock significant new capacity quickly.”
As the AI infrastructure build-out continues to expand, companies like Cipher Digital will become more valuable.
2. Sterling Infrastructure
Data centers are a big theme for artificial intelligence, but all of those facilities must be constructed before tech giants can use them. Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ: STRL) is a leading construction company for AI data centers, and its revenue surged by 90% year over year in the second quarter.
Its e-infrastructure segment, which includes its data center business, was the major catalyst. Revenues from this part of the company almost tripled year over year, and Sterling Infrastructure has been making acquisitions to gain market share in it faster. For example, Stone Ridge Contracting, which it bought in June, is directly tied to data centers. And each peer it rolls up into its operation makes it more difficult for its remaining competitors to gain traction.
E-infrastructure is also a higher-margin opportunity than Sterling Infrastructure’s other segments. That’s why the company has been reallocating some of its resources from transportation projects to e-infrastructure.
The e-infrastructure segment is also the primary reason the company is sitting on a $4.3 billion backlog. That’s equal to more than one-quarter of the company’s market cap. If you include the as-yet-unsigned high-probability deals listed in Sterling Infrastructure’s Q2 earnings presentation, total revenue visibility exceeds $7 billion.
3. Comfort Systems USA
Comfort Systems USA (NYSE: FIX) specializes in HVAC solutions that are critical to data centers. The company has built up a footprint of more than 200 locations across 150 cities through an acquisition model.
Its backlog has swelled as AI infrastructure projects have expanded. It wrapped up Q2 with a $14.1 billion backlog, compared with backlogs of $11.9 billion at the end of 2025 and just $6 billion at the end of 2024, underscoring how quickly the business has grown.
More than half of Comfort Systems USA’s revenue comes from the tech industry, and that share will likely grow as the AI build-out accelerates. New construction accounts for the majority of revenue as well, but its ongoing maintenance services could become more lucrative as more of its projects are completed.
Comfort Systems USA also generates high profits, which have allowed management to make generous dividend hikes. The company raised its payout by 12.5% year over year in the second quarter, showing that it can keep pace with high demand while boosting its bottom line.
That type of sustainability gives Comfort Systems USA the green light to make additional acquisitions, work on new projects, and capitalize on long-term catalysts. With this stock, investors get a pristine balance sheet and high growth rates.
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Marc Guberti has positions in Cipher Digital. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Comfort Systems USA and Sterling Infrastructure. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
