Three under-the-radar companies are positioning themselves around the physical build-out of AI data centers rather than the chips inside them. Cipher Digital, Sterling Infrastructure, and Comfort Systems USA are each expanding capacity, backlogs, or both as demand for data center space keeps rising.
The AI trade isn't just about chips. Massive amounts of physical infrastructure are required to support AI workloads, and three companies building that infrastructure are drawing attention as a result.
Cipher Digital expands its gigawatt pipeline
Cipher Digital builds AI data centers at scale, taking a co-location approach: it constructs the sites and secures power, while hyperscaler tenants supply their own chips. The company expects its annualized net operating income to jump from $97 million this year to $686 million next year, and it typically signs 10- to 15-year tenant contracts that lock in predictable cash flows.
Including its development pipeline, Cipher Digital now holds a 5.3-gigawatt portfolio, including a recently secured option on a 900-megawatt site near San Antonio. The company has also begun developing lateral pipelines across multiple facilities, a move that could add up to 2.5 gigawatts of power. CEO Typer Page said the initiative could help the company "unlock significant new capacity quickly."
Sterling Infrastructure's e-infrastructure segment surges
Data centers must be built before tech giants can use them, and Sterling Infrastructure is a leading construction contractor for them. Its revenue surged 90% year over year in the second quarter. The e-infrastructure segment drove the gain, with its revenue almost tripling year over year.
Acquisitions, including Stone Ridge Contracting in June, are helping the company gain market share faster in a higher-margin business than its transportation projects, prompting Sterling to reallocate resources accordingly. The segment is also the main reason behind the company's $4.3 billion backlog. That backlog climbs past $7 billion in total revenue visibility once high-probability unsigned deals are included.
Comfort Systems USA's backlog keeps climbing
Comfort Systems USA supplies HVAC solutions critical to data centers across more than 200 locations in 150 cities. It closed the second quarter with a $14.1 billion backlog. That backlog is up from $11.9 billion at the end of 2025 and just $6 billion at the end of 2024.
More than half of the company's revenue already comes from the tech industry, and that share will likely grow as the AI build-out continues. The company also raised its dividend by 12.5% year over year in the second quarter, a sign it can fund growth while still rewarding shareholders.
Source: The Motley Fool
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