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Interestingly, the companies that supply the critical infrastructure that makes AI computing possible are becoming more valuable now than the chipmakers themselves. Vertiv (VRT) is one such supplier that has piqued investors’ interest with its outstanding growth. Plus, its inclusion in the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) earlier this year helped spark VRT stock’s year-to-date (YTD) rally of 81%, far better than the broader market’s gain of roughly 8%.
Vertiv provides much of the power, cooling, and infrastructure required to run AI data centers efficiently and reliably. Its recent quarter showed that demand is accelerating faster than many investors expected.
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Massive Investments to Strengthen Vertiv’s Competitive Edge
Vertiv had a remarkably strong start to 2026. In the first quarter, organic sales increased 23% year-over-year (YOY), while net sales rose 30% YOY to $2.65 billion. The company’s profitability numbers were even more impressive, with adjusted EPS jumping 83% YOY to $1.17. The Americas served as the main growth driver with a 53% increase in revenue to $1.8 billion, while the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is slowly building momentum. Organic sales increased 12% in the APAC region, lower than management’s expectations. However, the reason was project timing rather than weakness in demand. While Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) remained the company’s weakest region in the quarter, management sees market sentiment improving.
Management believes that AI infrastructure is still in the early stages, meaning demand will grow even higher as AI data centers become more complex. As AI deployments become more demanding, it is also raising barriers to entry amid challenges such as tariffs, supply-chain constraints, labor shortages, and operational complexity. Only companies like Vertiv, which have already proven their ability to supply integrated systems, solutions, and services at scale, will have a competitive advantage.
Investors may not fully appreciate how much Vertiv is currently investing to support long-term growth. It is building more factories, services, and products to capture a bigger share of the rapidly growing AI data-center market. The firm is also investing in strategic acquisitions to boost its technological capabilities. For example, the acquisition of Thermal Key is expected to strengthen the company’s thermal management portfolio, while the acquisition of BMarko Structures adds custom-engineered structural fabrication capabilities.
