It seems lately that everywhere we look, there’s another AI opportunity. And most of those opportunities stem from the same familiar names. Chipmakers, cloud platforms, and software companies typically get the attention. But the data centre boom also has other beneficiaries that aren’t spoken about enough.
That includes the physical infrastructure. Those facilities need land, engineering, construction support, cooling systems, fibre connections, electricity supply, grid updates and long-term maintenance systems.
Chipmakers and software companies aren’t the ones handling that heavy lifting.
The question then is, who is tending to those massive requirements?
That opportunity extends beyond traditional tech stocks. And that creates a long-term infrastructure opportunity for companies like these three.
Let’s look at each of them.
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WSP can help design and manage complex infrastructure
WSP Global (TSX:WSP) is one of Canada’s best-known engineering and professional services companies. It works across transportation, buildings, environment, water, energy, and infrastructure.
This positions WSP as a key contributor to the digital infrastructure supporting Canada’s data centre boom. That includes planning, design, environmental work, and support for the power and cooling systems needed to push those projects forward.
Another unique advantage that WSP brings to the data centre boom is diversification. WSP is also exposed to broader infrastructure spending, urban development, and energy transition work. For long-term investors, it’s a more balanced way to play the infrastructure side of the data centre boom.
AtkinsRéalis brings engineering and project expertise
AtkinsRéalis (TSX:ATRL) is another Canadian engineering and infrastructure company that could benefit from the data centre boom. The company has experience across engineering services, project management, transportation, nuclear, energy, and other complex infrastructure markets.
That technical expertise is important because the data centre boom is more than just buildings and servers. It also increases pressure on power generation, transmission, grid reliability, and large-scale infrastructure execution.
These capabilities align directly with the infrastructure upgrades required to sustain hyperscale data centre growth. That’s a unique angle that still has plenty of opportunity.
By way of example, AtkinsRéalis’ nuclear and power expertise could become increasingly important as governments and companies seek out reliable, lower-emission electricity sources to support that rising demand.
The need for infrastructure, engineering, and power expertise isn’t going away.
In other words, AtkinsRéalis isn’t a pure-play data centre boom stock, but it still holds plenty of long-term potential for investors.
Emera benefits from rising power demand
A third pick to consider amid the data centre boom is Emera (TSX:EMA). Unlike the other stocks mentioned above, Emera isn’t an engineering or construction company.
Emera is a utility stock, and that makes the connection to the data centre boom more defensive.
Data centres consume enormous amounts of electricity. As more facilities are built, overall power grid demand will rise. Utilities will need to invest in generation, transmission, distribution, and grid reliability to keep up with that growing demand.
Enter Emera. As a regulated utility, the company offers a layer of stability when compared with higher-growth infrastructure or technology stocks. The sheer necessity of the electricity it provides also makes it one of the more defensive picks to consider.
And that necessity also makes Emera a key option for investors, irrespective of the current AI boom.
For income-focused investors, Emera also stands out because of its dividend. The company offers a quarterly dividend to investors that, as of the time of writing, works out to a 3.9% yield.
Are you investing in the data centre boom?
The data centre boom is much bigger than chips and cloud software. There’s an entire layer of engineering, construction, infrastructure, and electricity that is often ignored.
That’s where the trio of stocks mentioned above can benefit from that boom.
And perhaps best of all, none of these stocks are AI investments. This gives prospective investors long-term growth potential from the expansion of digital infrastructure across three distinct, diversified lanes.
In my opinion, a small position in one or all of these stocks should be added to a larger, well-diversified portfolio.
