2 AI Data Center Stocks to Buy Right Now

McKinsey projects capital spending on AI data centers will hit $5.2 trillion by 2030 (plus a further $1.5 billion for traditional data centers), creating a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure opportunity. Brookfield is aggressively positioning itself via a new Brookfield AI Infrastructure Fund that expects to deploy up to $100 billion into AI factories, semiconductors, power/transmission and related assets, has a $5 billion opportunity for fuel-cell power solutions, and can deploy roughly $500 million a year into AI data centers through its infrastructure arm and a new cloud services vehicle (Radiant). Equinix, with 273 data centers across 77 markets, 58 major projects under way (including 12 large xScale sites), and a joint-venture plan with Singapore’s sovereign fund and CPP to build $15 billion of U.S. xScale capacity, is on track to double capacity by 2029. Together, their scale, capital plans and access to power and real estate position them to capture outsized demand for AI-ready capacity and potentially generate robust returns for investors.

Analysis

McKinsey projects capital spending on AI data centers will reach $5.2 trillion by 2030, plus an additional $1.5 billion for traditional data centers, creating a multi‑trillion dollar structural demand tailwind that is already prompting large-scale capital programs. Brookfield Corporation is positioning to capture this opportunity via a Brookfield AI Infrastructure Fund targeting up to $100 billion of deployments, a $5 billion opportunity to deploy advanced fuel‑cell power solutions, a new cloud services vehicle (Radiant), and roughly $500 million per year of AI data‑center investment through Brookfield Infrastructure.

Equinix brings operating scale with 273 data centers across 77 markets, 58 major projects underway including 12 xScale sites, and a joint venture with Singapore’s sovereign fund and the Canada Pension Plan to build $15 billion of U.S. xScale capacity; management is targeting a doubling of capacity by 2029. Joint‑venture financing and large land/power positions de‑risk capital intensity by sharing funding and ensuring access to critical power and real estate.

The market signal is moderately positive (sentiment score 0.6, BN/EQIX per‑ticker sentiment 0.7) but market‑impact is modest (0.33), reflecting long lead times and execution risk; key risks are execution of fund deployments, pace of capex, power/energy supply agreements and competition for AI‑ready sites.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Consider an overweight allocation to BN and EQIX to gain direct exposure to AI‑data‑center growth given their announced capital plans and scale,
• Stage purchases into Brookfield and require verification of fund deployment milestones (Brookfield AI Infrastructure Fund commitments, Radiant progress and the $5 billion fuel‑cell rollout) before adding materially to positions,
• Favor Equinix exposure tied to xScale JV projects and monitor JV funding, lease‑up rates and the company’s path to double capacity by 2029 as primary upside catalysts,
• Monitor power supply and energy contracts (Brookfield Renewable and fuel‑cell deployments) and treat energy access or regulatory constraints as principal downside risks to position sizing,
• Use phased entries or hedges given the capital‑intensive, multi‑year nature of these investments and adjust positions based on quarterly capex pacing (e.g., Brookfield Infrastructure ~$500M/year) and project execution updates