The AI boom is creating a second layer of investment opportunities beyond the chips that power it. As hyperscalers accelerate spending on AI servers and data centers, demand is rising for the power, cooling and networking infrastructure required to support increasingly dense computing environments. This shift is becoming more important as AI workloads consume more electricity and require faster movement of data across large clusters.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Sept. 9 report, U.S. electricity generation is expected to increase 2.2% in 2026 to 4,368 billion kilowatt-hours, with data-center development among the factors supporting demand.
This makes the broader AI data-center ecosystem worth watching even as investors debate the sustainability of massive AI spending. NVIDIA NVDA remains the central beneficiary of AI compute demand, but companies supplying the infrastructure around those GPUs can also benefit as data-center capacity expands.
For investors looking beyond the semiconductor leader, power, cooling and networking providers offer direct exposure to this next phase of the AI buildout. Here, we discuss two stocks, Vertiv VRT and Arista Networks ANET, which offer exposure to the AI data-center boom beyond NVIDIA, with opportunities spanning power and cooling, networking and AI infrastructure.
One-Month Stock Comparison 
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Why Look Beyond NVIDIA?
NVIDIA remains the dominant supplier of AI accelerators, with fiscal 2027, second-quarter Data Center revenues soaring 117% year over year driven by strong demand for its Blackwell platform and the ramp of Blackwell Ultra. However, AI data centers require much more than GPUs. They also need high-speed networking, servers, power-management systems, cooling equipment and other critical infrastructure.
Recent corporate results provide further evidence that AI infrastructure spending is extending beyond GPUs. Broadcom’s AVGO fiscal third-quarter AI semiconductor revenues jumped 221% year over year, reflecting strong demand for custom AI accelerators and networking. Hewlett Packard HPE’s fiscal third-quarter Data Center Networking revenues surged 112.2% to $382 million, while the company’s AI Systems orders reached $2.4 billion.
These trends suggest that the AI investment opportunity is broadening across the data-center stack, creating opportunities in networking, computing, power and cooling alongside the accelerator market.
2 Stocks to Buy Beyond NVIDIA
Vertiv: It provides power, cooling and other critical infrastructure for data centers, making it a direct beneficiary of rising AI rack density and electricity requirements. Second-quarter 2026 sales increased 24% year over year, while product revenues rose 22%. The company expects third-quarter sales of $3.65-$3.85 billion.
Vertiv is also expanding its exposure to power-constrained data centers. On Sept. 2, the company announced an agreement to acquire UtilityInnovation Group for approximately $1.45 billion in cash at closing, with up to $1.15 billion in additional consideration tied to EBITDA targets. The deal would add microgrid controls, onsite-generation orchestration and behind-the-meter power architecture to Vertiv’s portfolio. Vertiv expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
VRT currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Over the past three months, VRT shares have declined about 30.4%, despite the company’s strong AI infrastructure demand and raised guidance. The pullback could provide a more attractive entry point for investors seeking long-term exposure to the AI data-center buildout. Meanwhile, the stock is projected to report 59.3% earnings growth on 36.9% revenue growth in 2026.
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Arista: It supplies high-speed networking equipment that enables massive AI clusters to move data efficiently. Its second-quarter revenues increased 37.7% year over year, marking its first quarter above $3 billion. Management expects third-quarter revenues of approximately $3.3 billion.
Arista is also benefiting from rising demand for AI networking as cloud and hyperscale customers expand their data-center infrastructure. The company has been developing Ethernet-based solutions for large AI clusters, including its Etherlink AI networking portfolio. Recent industry commentary points to growing demand for high-speed networking as AI clusters become larger and more interconnected.
Shares of ANET have gained 14.2% over the past three months. However, the company’s robust AI networking demand and continued product innovation indicate further growth potential as data-center customers expand their AI infrastructure. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock is projected to report 35.6% earnings growth on 39.1% revenue growth in 2026. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
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Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).