Chip stocks are among the biggest beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence (AI) spending boom.
Of course, this success story is NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA)its shares have surged 1,220% over the past five years.
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Shares of other semiconductor companies have also surged recently. memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology‘ (NASDAQ:MU) Shares up 44.6% year to date, analog chip maker Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) It’s up 21% so far this year.
But what if your portfolio is already filled with chip stocks with generous valuations? Good news: There’s another great way to invest in artificial intelligence without having to buy a single chip stock again.
Even the most advanced artificial intelligence processor chips cannot function without large amounts of data. This is why so much of AI infrastructure is focused on AI-ready data centers. Not only do these data centers require massive amounts of chips, they also require advanced electrical systems to power them, as well as powerful cooling systems to prevent overheating.
that’s there Vertiv Technology Holdings Inc. (NYSE: VRT) Enter the screen.
Vertiv is an Ohio-based supplier of industrial power and cooling systems. Before the AI boom began, data centers represented only a small portion of its customer base, which included manufacturing, healthcare and retail facilities. However, with the explosion of AI data centers, the company’s entire business model has changed.
Vertiv now describes itself as a “global leader in data centers, communications networks, and critical digital infrastructure for applications in commercial and industrial environments.” That’s not surprising considering the numbers the company posted in its most recent quarterly earnings report.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Vertiv’s organic orders surged 252% year over year, while diluted earnings per share increased 200% from the prior year. Operating cash flow exceeded US$1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 136%. Much of this growth is due to high demand for its artificial intelligence data center systems. CEO Giordano Albertazzi attributed the blowout to “Vertiv’s leadership position in the increasingly complex and demanding data center market.”
And this growth shows no signs of slowing down. Vertiv’s current order backlog (orders contracted but not yet delivered) reaches a record $15 billion, a 109% year-over-year increase. Management expects this growth to continue into 2026. This is consistent with recent Motley Fool research that data center spending is expected to quadruple from $1 trillion to $4 trillion between 2025 and 2030.
Considering all this growth, it’s no surprise that Vertiv shares are soaring 59% so far in 2026:
However, Vertiv’s price-to-earnings ratio of 75 is only slightly above its three-year average of 67, while its price-to-sales ratio is less than 10, suggesting the non-chip giant may still have plenty of room to grow.
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John Bromels has worked at Micron Technology, Nvidia and Texas Instruments. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Micron Technology, Nvidia, Texas Instruments and Vertiv. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Is this the best way to invest in artificial intelligence without buying single-chip stocks? Originally posted by The Motley Fool