The artificial intelligence (AI) race is entering a new phase, and it is becoming increasingly expensive. According to an analysis by Bridgewater Associates, some of the world’s largest technology companies are expected to invest roughly US$650 billion in AI infrastructure within this year, reflecting a sharp increase from the previous year, as demand for computing power continues to outpace supply. That spending is flowing into data centres, networking equipment, servers, and the complex supply chains needed to support them.
While most investors tend to focus on AI software developers and chipmakers, another group of companies is quietly benefiting from this massive buildout. And in Canada, Celestica (TSX: CLS) has emerged as one of the clearest ways to gain exposure to the growing demand for data centre infrastructure. The stock has already delivered some eye-popping returns over the last few years, but its fundamentals suggest the company remains well-positioned as AI-related spending accelerates. Let’s take a closer look.
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Celestica is tied to the AI infrastructure buildout
If you don’t know it already, Celestica provides design, manufacturing, hardware platform, and supply-chain solutions. Its business is split between Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS) and Connectivity & Cloud Solutions (CCS) segments, with the latter tied closely to communications, enterprise, server, and storage demand.
Following a 218% surge over the last 12 months alone, CLS stock recently trades at $518.57 per share, giving the company a market cap of about $59.6 billion. The recent gain in the shares clearly reflects the market’s enthusiasm for its role in the data centre cycle.
Recent results show powerful demand
In the first quarter of 2026, Celestica posted revenue of US$4.1 billion, up 53% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis. Its GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) operating margin in the latest quarter improved to 6.7% from 4.9% a year ago, while its adjusted operating margin rose to 8% from 7.1%.
The biggest growth driver for Celestica has been its CCS segment, where revenue jumped 76% YoY to US$3.2 billion, and the segment margin reached 8.6%. That solid growth is a result of rising demand from hyperscaler customers investing in AI and cloud infrastructure.
At the same time, its hardware platform solutions revenue also increased 63% YoY to about US$1.7 billion, highlighting the company’s growing role in critical data centre equipment.
A stronger outlook
Celestica has been winning new programs and improving visibility with customers. That gave its management the confidence to recently raise its 2026 yearly outlook to US$19 billion in revenue and US$10.15 per share in adjusted earnings.
The company also amended and upsized its credit facility to about US$2.5 billion, giving it more liquidity as the business scales. Similarly, its work on co-packaged optics switch programs with hyperscaler customers also points to the kind of innovation that could keep it relevant as AI infrastructure evolves.
Why this data centre-focused Canadian stock could surge further
Celestica is not a quiet value stock anymore, but it remains one of the clearest Canadian beneficiaries of the data centre spending boom. With revenue growth accelerating, hyperscaler demand rising, and management lifting its outlook, this Canadian tech giant still appears to have a powerful long-term growth story ahead, which should help the shares continue rallying.
