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Vertiv Holdings (VRT +3.67%), a provider of critical digital infrastructure, including power and cooling systems, for artificial intelligence (AI) build-out, generated $10.2 billion in net sales in 2025. To reach an annual revenue of about $20.4 billion by 2029, the company will need to grow revenue at about 18.9% annually.

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However, Vertiv expects 2026 sales of $13.8 billion to $14.2 billion. Using the $14 billion midpoint, Vertiv would need revenue growth of only about 13.5% annually from 2026 through 2029 to double its 2025 sales.

Hence, the real question is whether it can double its revenue as the AI infrastructure build-out matures.

Expected growth rate is below management's target The strongest support for that forecast comes from Vertiv itself. Management is targeting 20% to 22% organic annual sales growth from 2025 through 2030 and roughly $26 billion of revenue in 2030. Hence, Vertiv seems well-positioned to cross the $20.4 billion threshold before then, even if growth slows meaningfully from current levels.

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Vertiv also enjoys high demand visibility. The company exited 2025 with $15 billion of backlog, more than its entire 2025 revenue. However, that backlog should not be treated as guaranteed 2029 sales. Management says orders can be canceled or rescheduled, and much of the backlog is expected to convert within 12 to 18 months. Vertiv will therefore need to keep replacing completed projects with new orders.

Execution risk AI data centers are also becoming harder to power and cool as computing density rises. This increases demand for Vertiv's power, cooling, and integrated infrastructure products, giving the company another way to grow even if the number of data centers expands more slowly.

However, strong demand does not always turn into revenue immediately. Vertiv's second-quarter revenue (ending June 30, 2026) rose 24% year over year, but temporary supply chain congestion and the timing of larger, more complex projects delayed some sales. The company is expanding manufacturing capacity across power systems, integrated infrastructure, and cooling to keep up with demand.

Hence, investors should assess whether Vertiv can keep winning enough new orders and expanding capacity fast enough to sustain low-teens growth after 2026.

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The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.

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VGM ScoreIf you like to use all three kinds of investing, then the VGM Score is for you. It's a combination of all Style Scores, and is an important indicator to use with the Zacks Rank. The VGM Score rates each stock on their shared weighted styles, narrowing down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.

#1 (Strong Buy) stocks have produced an unmatched +23.8% average annual return since 1988, which is more than double the S&P 500's performance over the same time frame. However, the Zacks Rank examines a ton of stocks, and there can be more than 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, and another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

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Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT - Free Report) Vertiv is a leading global provider of critical digital infrastructure and services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments. Vertiv serves essential industries, including cloud computing, financial services, healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, energy, government, education, retail and social media.

VRT is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Momentum investors should take note of this Computer and Technology stock. VRT has a Momentum Style Score of B, and shares are up 3.9% over the past four weeks.

Eight analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.28 to $6.69 per share. VRT also boasts an average earnings surprise of +12.6%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, VRT should be on investors' short list.

Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.

Shares of this company have returned +3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -0.1% change. The Zacks Computers - IT Services industry, to which Vertiv belongs, has gained 6.3% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?

While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.

Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.

We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

Vertiv is expected to post earnings of $1.83 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +47.6%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +1.1%.

For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $6.69 points to a change of +59.3% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed +0.3%.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $8.96 indicates a change of +33.9% from what Vertiv is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +0.8%.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for Vertiv.

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Projected Revenue GrowthEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.

In the case of Vertiv, the consensus sales estimate of $3.75 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +40.3%. The $13.98 billion and $18.06 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +36.6% and +29.2%, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryVertiv reported revenues of $3.27 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +24.1%. EPS of $1.52 for the same period compares with $0.95 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.39 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of -3.41%. The EPS surprise was +6.29%.

The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates two times over this period.

ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.

Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.

As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

Vertiv is graded D on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Vertiv. However, its Zacks Rank #2 does suggest that it may outperform the broader market in the near term.

Vertiv Holdings stands at the backbone of the AI and data center revolution, with significant catalysts ahead. Despite VRT's 100%+ surge over the past year, I see further upside driven by robust industry tailwinds and Mag 7 capex. I believe the data center market could be in its early innings, with potential for market size to double as capex accelerates.

Vertiv Holdings NYSE: VRT just made its clearest statement yet about where the next phase of AI infrastructure spending is headed. On Sept. 2, the company announced it will acquire UtilityInnovation Group (UIG), a microgrid and behind-the-meter power specialist. The deal will be financed with roughly $1.45 billion in cash up front, with another $1.15 billion tied to EBITDA targets over the next two years, pushing the total potential price tag to $2.6 billion.

Vertiv Today

$275.04 +6.21 (+2.31%)

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The market's first reaction will likely focus on the cost. A 13x multiple on UIG's expected 2027 EBITDA isn't cheap for a company most investors have never heard of. But investors don't have to dig too deep to get to see the bigger picture. The acquisition is really a bet on solving the single biggest constraint standing between AI data center demand and actual deployed capacity.

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Industry executives call it "time to power," and it's become as important as chip supply in determining how fast AI infrastructure gets built. Utility interconnection queues in major markets can stretch over years. UIG's technology lets operators bypass that bottleneck through onsite generation and grid-independent architectures. Vertiv is betting that owning this capability outright is worth the premium.

What UtilityInnovation Group Brings to VertivUIG isn't a generic acquisition target. Founded in 2020 and based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a European headquarters in Dublin, the company built its business specifically around the messiest part of data center power planning: the handoff between the utility grid and the site itself. Its technology includes proprietary controls software and pre-engineered microgrid switchgear designed to coordinate multiple power sources in real time.

That's a different layer of the stack than what Vertiv historically sold. Vertiv's core business has been power distribution, thermal management, and IT infrastructure inside the data center walls. UIG pushes Vertiv upstream, to where a customer is still deciding how to secure power before a single rack gets installed. CEO Gio Albertazzi said the deal extends Vertiv's reach "from source to chip" without locking customers into one supplier.

That framing matters for how investors should read this deal. It's not a diversification play into an unrelated business. It's a vertical extension into the exact problem that determines how quickly a data center can go from site selection to what Albertazzi called "first token."

Why Vertiv Structured the UIG Deal Around Performance TargetsThe earnout structure deserves attention, too. Vertiv is paying $1.45 billion now and deferring up to $1.15 billion until UIG hits specific EBITDA milestones over 12- and 24-month periods. If the full earnout is paid, the effective multiple drops meaningfully below 13x, because that scenario only occurs if UIG's growth materializes.

In other words, Vertiv isn't overpaying for a story. It's structuring the deal so that a large chunk of the price is paid only if the growth is real. That's a meaningfully different setup than an acquirer paying a rich multiple purely on projected synergies with no accountability built in.

Vertiv also expects the deal to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share (EPS) in year one. That's a notable claim for an acquisition of this size, and it suggests management has confidence in UIG's near-term cash generation, not just its long-term strategic fit.

Vertiv's Acquisition Tests the AI Infrastructure Growth ThesisThis deal is really a referendum on how durable the AI infrastructure buildout thesis is. Skeptics have argued for months that power constraints could cap the pace of data center construction regardless of how much capital gets committed. Vertiv's move suggests the company sees that constraint not as a ceiling on the opportunity, but as the opportunity itself.

If time-to-power becomes as critical a differentiator as time-to-market has been in other industries, the company that owns the tools to compress that timeline captures outsized value. Vertiv is positioning itself to be that company, extending its portfolio from grid interconnect all the way to the rack.

There are real risks. The deal still needs regulatory approval and isn't expected to close until the fourth quarter of 2026. Integration of a five-year-old company with global operations carries execution risk. And the price tag is still substantial, even for a company of Vertiv's size.

How the Deal Fits Into the Broader Infrastructure Trade93rd Percentile

Moderate Buy

33.5% Upside

Healthy

Weak

0.98 Selling Shares

33.13%

See Full Analysis

The picks-and-shovels trade around AI data centers has evolved fast. A year ago, the story was mostly chips and cooling. Now it's expanding into everything that touches power: transformers, switchgear, and increasingly, generation sources themselves.

Vertiv's move puts it in closer competition with Eaton NYSE: ETN and Quanta Services NYSE: PWR, both of which are building out their own power-adjacent capabilities.

The difference is that Vertiv is buying rather than partnering, a bigger commitment that reshapes its growth algorithm.

This isn't a company simply riding demand for existing products. It's actively expanding its addressable market to capture more value within each customer relationship, positioning itself as a single, accountable vendor from grid interconnect to the rack.

What Investors Should Watch After the Vertiv-UIG AcquisitionWatch for commentary on UIG's order pipeline once Vertiv reports earnings following the deal's close. Any specifics on hyperscaler or colocation discussions already underway would quickly validate the demand thesis. Also track whether Eaton, Quanta Services, or generation-focused players like Bloom Energy NYSE: BE make similar moves, confirming the whole industry sees behind-the-meter power as the next frontier.

But the strategic logic is sound. AI data center operators aren't just competing on chip access anymore. They're competing on how fast they can get power to those chips. Vertiv just bought a meaningful edge in that race, and the market will spend the next several quarters deciding whether the price was worth it.

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Vertiv has quietly shed nearly a third of its value from its peak even as earnings beats pile up and estimates keep climbing higher. One analyst has a target so far above current prices it sounds almost absurd, but the…

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT | VRT Price Prediction) closed the most recent session at $256.70, while the average Wall Street price target sits at $338.15. That leaves a consensus gap of roughly 32% between where the stock trades and where analysts think it belongs.

Vertiv sells the power and thermal plumbing that keeps AI data centers alive: UPS systems, switchgear, chillers, coolant distribution units, and liquid-cooling loops that sit between hyperscalers and the GPUs they are racing to deploy (we profiled seven of these infrastructure suppliers, from power to cooling, in a free report here: 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom). That positioning turned VRT into one of the market’s cleanest AI infrastructure names and made it a favorite of momentum funds after it joined the S&P 500 in March 2026.

The gap matters because the stock has quietly come undone from its highs even as the operating story keeps getting better. That disconnect has Wall Street increasingly vocal, with one shop calling for a rally of roughly 100% from here.

A 32% Drawdown Off the Highs Nobody Is Talking About Vertiv has shed about 32% from its 52-week high of $379.86, a drawdown large enough to qualify as a bear market in a single name. Shares are down 2.41% over the past month and 2.7% over the past week, extending a slow bleed that began after the April peak near $319.

The catalyst had nothing to do with earnings quality. Vertiv’s Q2 2026 report was the fifth straight beat, with $1.52 in adjusted EPS, $3.27 billion in revenue up 24.12% year over year, and adjusted operating margin of 22.6%, up 410 basis points. Management raised full-year EPS guidance to $6.65 to $6.75. Yet shares opened the next session near $232 after filing at $270.

The market seized on management’s comments about “minor timing shifts” in Q2 revenue tied to multi-phase project execution and supply-chain congestion. Investors read that as a crack in the AI capex story. Layer in tariff overhangs, an EMEA segment that grew only 1.7%, and profit-taking after a scorching run, and the selloff snowballed.

Why Loop Capital Sees a 100% Rally From Here Analysts remain firmly constructive. Of 28 firms covering VRT, 3 rate it Strong Buy, 21 Buy, 4 Hold, and none Sell. The consensus EPS estimate for 2026 has climbed to $6.71 from $6.48 just 30 days ago, and the 2027 number has moved to $9.10. Recent revisions are running heavily to the upside, with 21 upward revisions versus only three cuts over the past month for 2026.

The loudest bull is Loop Capital Markets, which carries the highest active published Street target of $500.00. From here, that implies close to a 100% move. Loop’s thesis models aggressive long-term revenue and margin expansion driven by Vertiv’s dominant market share in liquid cooling (CDUs, chillers) and power management infrastructure for next-generation AI data center architectures. In plain English: Loop believes VRT is the toll booth for the 800-volt DC power and closed-loop liquid cooling transition already being validated with NVIDIA GB300 and Vera Rubin platforms.

Management’s own commentary supports the bull case. CEO Gio Albertazzi told investors “the momentum is strong. It’s broad-based, and it’s accelerating,” pointing to a Q2 backlog and pipeline that continue to expand across hyperscale, colocation, and neocloud customers. A $1.45 billion deal to acquire a microgrid firm, announced this week, deepens VRT’s grid-tie capability just as AI power constraints tighten.

The bull timeline is concrete. Q3 organic growth is guided to 34% to 36%, which would give the market a clean data point on whether the H2 backlog conversion story is real. Loop’s $500 needs that ramp plus continued mix shift toward higher-content liquid-cooling deployments.

Vertiv Fell Alone While Its Power Peers Held Firmer The AI power complex sold off unevenly. Vertiv is the outlier, having given back more than any close peer despite posting the cleanest fundamentals.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) trades at $390.85 against a $475.57 average target, implying about 22% upside. Coverage skews bullish with 22 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Strong Sell. ETN is down 10.59% in the past month but still 23.73% YTD; Wall Street’s implied upside here is meaningfully smaller than VRT’s.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC) sits at $180.76 versus a $283.88 target, or roughly 57% upside, with 14 Buys and 7 Holds. GNRC has fallen 12.52% in the past week on data-center backlog concerns, giving it the widest peer-group gap outside of Loop’s outlier VRT call.

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) trades near $37.00 against a $42.38 target, implying just 14.5% upside. The rating deck reflects lingering doubt: 5 Buys, 11 Holds, 3 Sells. SMCI’s setup is the weakest of the group on both upside and analyst posture.

Across the primary and its peers, GNRC carries the largest consensus upside, but the standout single-analyst call sits with Vertiv thanks to Loop’s $500. On a rating-quality basis, VRT’s Buy-heavy book is the cleanest in the group.

How the VRT Numbers Actually Stack Up Vertiv trades at $256.70 with a $338.15 consensus target across 28 analysts, implying about 32% upside to the group average and closer to 95% to Loop’s Street-high $500. Targets are one data point among many.

Performance tells the dislocation story. VRT is up 58.52% YTD and 107.22% over one year. The S&P 500, by comparison, is up 12.21% YTD and 19.51% over the same twelve months. VRT has vastly outrun the index over a year yet has stalled recently, down 2.41% in the past month while the S&P added 0.99%.

Valuation runs rich. Shares trade at a 42x forward earnings multiple on $6.71 in 2026 EPS. That is the price of a name growing organic sales in the 30s with expanding margins and a net cash balance sheet.

Where I Actually Come Down on Vertiv Here Vertiv looks compelling at these levels if the bull case holds. Q3 delivers the guided 34%-plus organic growth, the H2 timing shifts resolve as management promised, and liquid-cooling attach rates keep climbing as GB300 and Vera Rubin platforms roll out. That path gets consensus to $338 comfortably and gives Loop’s $500 a real runway toward 2027 as EPS scales toward $9.10. But the risk/reward inverts if the bear case bites. Multi-phase project complexity turns into recurring push-outs, tariffs squeeze the price-cost equation, hyperscale capex digestion arrives sooner than expected, and a 42x forward multiple compresses fast on any growth wobble.

My lean is constructive. Estimates are moving up, not down, and the operating results support the bullish revisions. Loop’s 100% rally call is aggressive and depends on 2027 execution, but the base-case 32% gap to consensus looks like the market punishing complexity commentary while the underlying thesis remains intact. Investors who can stomach a high-beta name with a rich multiple are being offered a better entry than they’ve had in months.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Vertiv Holdings delivered 60% YoY adjusted EPS growth in Q2 2026, raised full-year guidance, and saw deferred revenue double, yet shares sold off on a revenue timing miss. VRT's operational momentum is underpinned by technical integration with NVIDIA, expanding thermal and power solutions, and strong customer prepayments signaling robust demand. Management projects 40% YoY Q3 revenue growth, with VRT trading at 38.16x 2026 EPS and 28.13x 2027 EPS, while compounding earnings at a 60% rate.

After a significant pullback, Vertiv remains a buy due to robust AI infrastructure tailwinds and strategic capacity expansion. Q2 revenue growth decelerated due to temporary supply chain issues, but margin expansion and EPS outperformance signal core business strength. Vertiv raised full-year guidance across net sales, margins, EPS, and FCF, reflecting confidence in accelerating demand and operational execution.

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Vertiv Holdings VRT agreed to acquire UtilityInnovation Group for approximately $1.45 billion in cash at closing, with additional consideration of up to $1.15 billion tied to EBITDA targets over 12 and 24 month periods. UIG designs microgrid systems, power controls and behind-the-meter power architecture for data centers. Vertiv shares were down 0.73% premarket.

At the upfront price the deal represents roughly 13x expected UIG 2027 EBITDA, and Vertiv said that multiple would be significantly lower if the full earnout is paid. The company expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in the first year after completion. The purchase extends Vertiv upstream to the grid interconnect, adding microgrid controls, onsite generation and energy storage orchestration, and behind-the-meter power architecture.

Vertiv chief executive Gio Albertazzi said competitive advantage now depends on "how quickly they can move from site selection to first token." The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

~$1.45 billion acquisition expected to expand Vertiv's addressable opportunity in power-constrained data centers

Adds microgrid controls, onsite generation orchestration, microgrid-specific switchgear and behind-the-meter power architecture to Vertiv's portfolio Extends Vertiv's power and cooling portfolio from grid interconnect to chip, independent of any single generation technology or supplier UIG's proven team and proprietary technology expected to help customers accelerate time to power through grid-connected or grid-independent architectures , /PRNewswire/ -- Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE: VRT) ("Vertiv"), a global leader in critical digital infrastructure, today announced its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vertiv Corporation, has entered into an agreement and plan of merger to acquire Utility Innovation Holdings, Inc., which operates as UtilityInnovation Group ("UIG"), a leader in microgrid solutions, advanced power controls and behind-the-meter power architecture design for data centers, for approximately $1.45 billion in cash at closing, with additional consideration of up to $1.15 billion in cash based on achieving certain earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") targets over 12- and 24-month periods.

Vertiv Announces Agreement to Acquire UtilityInnovation Group to Accelerate Time to Power for AI Data Centers At the approximately $1.45 billion purchase price, the acquisition represents approximately 13x expected UIG 2027 EBITDA. The EBITDA multiple is anticipated to be significantly lower if the full earnout is paid. Vertiv expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in the first year following completion. Strategically, the acquisition extends Vertiv upstream to the grid interconnect, adding microgrid controls, onsite generation and energy storage orchestration, and behind-the-meter power architecture. These capabilities are expected to help data center operators secure power faster as grid constraints increasingly limit AI infrastructure deployment.

As power availability becomes a more critical factor in data center development, architecture decisions are moving earlier in the planning process. Microgrid systems can coordinate onsite generation and energy storage, reduce reliance on utility power and support the grid when needed. This is expanding the importance of power architecture at the earliest stages of site development, when decisions can have significant implications for downstream infrastructure.

"For AI data center operators, competitive advantage increasingly depends on how quickly they can move from site selection to first token," said Gio Albertazzi, Chief Executive Officer, Vertiv. "Vertiv has the most complete power and cooling portfolio in the industry. With UIG, we anticipate extending that portfolio upstream to the utility interconnect and onsite power sources, creating a coordinated architecture from source to chip without tying customers to a single generation technology or supplier."

Albertazzi continued: "Together, we anticipate being better positioned to support grid-connected sites, bridge-to-grid deployments and islanded sites supplied by onsite generation, while reducing complexity from site planning through rack-level deployment. This broader capability can help customers accelerate time to power and, ultimately, time to first token."

UIG Founder and CEO Sidney Hinton added: "UIG was founded to solve increasingly complex power challenges for data center operators through flexible, technology-agnostic architectures. Vertiv's global scale, critical infrastructure portfolio and service capabilities make it a strong strategic fit for what we have built. We believe this combination can expand the reach of UIG's microgrid controls and power architecture expertise and create greater value for customers as power becomes an increasingly critical constraint on data center growth."

Expanding Vertiv's Onsite Power Capabilities

UIG's expertise and technologies complement Vertiv's existing offerings:

Experience: Design and delivery of microgrid systems for AI data center operators across the United States and Europe, supported by extensive utility relationships and experience with complex, large-scale deployments. UIG's designs are generation-agnostic, allowing architectures to be built around the technologies a site can permit, fuel and finance. Expertise: Behind-the-meter power architecture design that engages customers at the earliest planning stages, before equipment is selected. This enables Vertiv to help define the power blueprint that shapes downstream infrastructure decisions, supported by pre-validated reference designs for grid-connected, bridge-to-grid and islanded sites. Technology: Proprietary controls platform and pre-engineered microgrid switchgear that orchestrate multiple power sources in real time and coordinate them with the critical power train. Today, Vertiv brings deep systems and controls expertise across the critical power train, supported by an end-to-end power and cooling portfolio and global service network. Combined with UIG, Vertiv expects to help customers design and deploy integrated power architectures that improve speed, resiliency, efficiency, and flexibility.

Expected customer and operator benefits include:

Faster access to power with less dependence on utility interconnection timelines Ability to scale site capacity beyond what the grid alone can provide A single accountable relationship from grid interconnect through rack-level infrastructure Together, these capabilities are expected to give customers greater flexibility in how they source, manage and scale power as data center requirements evolve.

About UIG

Founded in 2020, UIG is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, with European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and manufacturing operations in North Carolina and New Jersey. The company designs and delivers power systems that support real-time load and frequency balancing across behind-the-meter systems and utility-connected energy resources, helping address the power demands of AI data center workloads. Its solutions include proprietary controls software, customized microgrid switchgear and energy storage.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as financial advisor to Vertiv, and Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC is serving as legal counsel. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to UIG, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as legal counsel.

For more information on Vertiv's leading portfolio of power and thermal management, infrastructure solutions, IT systems, and services for critical digital applications, visit Vertiv.com.

About Vertiv
Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers' vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today's data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extends from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, USA, Vertiv does business in more than 130 countries. For more information, and for the latest news and content from Vertiv, visit Vertiv.com.

Category: Financial News

Forward-looking statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27 of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. These statements are only a prediction. Actual events or results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements set forth herein. Readers are referred to Vertiv's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for a discussion of these and other important risk factors concerning Vertiv and its operations. Those risk factors and risks related to the transaction, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from historical performance and include, but are not limited to: the timing and consummation of the proposed transaction; the risk that the closing does not occur; expected expenses related to the transaction; the possible diversion of management time on issues related to the transaction; the ability of Vertiv to maintain relationships with customers and suppliers of UIG; the ability of Vertiv to retain management and key employees of UIG; and whether Vertiv would realize anticipated synergies and accretion contemplated by the acquisition. Vertiv is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For investor inquiries, please contact: 
Lynne Maxeiner
Vice President, Global Treasury & Investor Relations
Vertiv
E: [email protected] 

For media inquiries, please contact:
Ruder Finn for Vertiv
E: [email protected] 

SOURCE Vertiv Holdings Co

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National shareholder rights law firm Hagens Berman announces that it is investigating potential securities law violations by Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE: VRT) following a sharp stock drop triggered by disappointing Q2 financial results and unexpected execution challenges.

If you purchased or acquired Vertiv securities and suffered significant losses, submit your losses now.  

Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/vrtEmail: [email protected] Direct: 844-916-0895 Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE: VRT) Investigation Overview:

Hagens Berman’s investigation focuses on whether Vertiv and certain of its executive officers issued materially false and misleading statements or failed to disclose material operational risks to investors.

The Optimistic Narrative (Q1 2026): Throughout early 2026—including during Vertiv’s Q1 2026 earnings conference call on April 22, 2026—management repeatedly assured investors that the company’s multi-year backlog, large-scale modular deployments and capacity expansion initiatives were running smoothly. Executives, including CEO Giordano Albertazzi and Executive Chairman Dave M. Cote, portrayed execution complexity and supply chain pressures as competitive advantages that favored established players like Vertiv, while aggressively raising full-year 2026 financial guidance.The Reality Check (July 29, 2026): On July 29, 2026, Vertiv reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2026, disclosing net sales of $3.27 billion—a significant miss compared to Wall Street consensus estimates of roughly $3.38 billion to $3.39 billion.“Timing Shifts”: Management blamed the top-line shortfall on internal and external supply chain congestion and complex multi-phase project execution at hyperscale data center deployment sites, characterizing the revenue miss as “timing shifts.” “Our investigation focuses on whether Vertiv was obligated to disclose project execution bottlenecks and site-level interdependencies at the time leadership was projecting smooth scaling and raising full-year guidance,” said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the firm’s investigation.

Market Impact and Stock Drop

Following these disclosures, Vertiv’s stock price plummeted 17.26% in a single trading session on July 29, 2026, dropping sharply to close at $223.04 per share, severely harming VRT investors.

What VRT Investors & Whistleblowers Can Do

Investors with Losses: If you invested in Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE: VRT) shares and have substantial losses, submit your loss information here.Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Vertiv should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. Contact Reed Kathrein directly at (844) 916-0895 or via email at [email protected].

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Vertiv should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email [email protected].

About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs’ rights complex litigation firm focusing on corporate accountability. The firm is home to a robust practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and other wrongdoings. Hagens Berman’s team has secured more than $2.9 billion in this area of law. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. 

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.

Contact: Hagens Berman, Reed Kathrein, 715 Hearst Avenue, Suite 300, Berkeley, CA 94710, 844-916-0895, [email protected]

NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Vertiv Holdings Co (“Vertiv” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VRT).  Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Vertiv and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. 

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On July 29, 2026, Vertiv reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2026.  Among other items, Vertiv reported net sales of $3.27 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion.  Vertiv said that its revenue reflected “minor timing shifts,” primarily due to temporary supply chain congestion and multi-phased project execution as deployments become larger and more complex. 

On this news, Vertiv’s stock price fell $46.52 per share, or 17.26%, to close at $223.04 per share on July 29, 2026.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.  

CONTACT:
Danielle Peyton
Pomerantz LLP
[email protected]
646-581-9980 ext. 7980

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the main driver of the stock market this year, with investors piling into mega-cap technology companies tied to AI, data centers, cloud computing, and semiconductors.

This trend overlooks a key sector that is benefiting from AI and the growth of data centers -- industrials.

They're considered cyclical and traditional stalwarts, maybe a little boring, but they are key enablers of AI growth. On top of that, many industrial stocks still have attractive valuations.

That's particularly true of the picks-and-shovels companies supplying grid equipment, HVAC/cooling, switchgear, and construction for AI growth. Many of these companies are also aided by trends in global grid modernizations, reshoring, and energy transition. Here are three industrial winners hiding in plain sight: Eaton Corporation (ETN -3.19%), Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT) , and Cummins (CMI -1.57%).

Image source: Getty Images.

Eaton helps connect data centers to the electrical grid Eaton is an Ireland-based company that makes products for the data center, utility, industrial, commercial and institutional, machine building, residential, aerospace, and mobility markets. Its products connect data centers directly to the electrical grid.

On Aug. 17, Eaton announced a partnership with Trane (TT -1.18%) to develop an integrated design based on Nvidia's (NVDA -4.58%) DSX AI factory reference design. The collaboration will develop higher-power designs tailored for AI data centers.

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In the second quarter, its sales rose 21% year over year to $8.53 billion. The company's order backlog grew by 43% in the electrical sector and by 23% in its aerospace segment. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were a record $3.15, up 12% over the same period a year ago.

The company is forecasting full-year organic revenue growth between 11% and 13% and adjusted EPS between $13.40 and $13.60, up from $12.07 in 2025. Despite a 28% rise this year in its share price, the stock is still trading at about 30 times forward earnings, a bargain for an AI stock.

Eaton completed two major acquisitions this year. It bought Boyd Thermal for $9.55 billion, adding a company whose liquid cooling solutions and thermal management are complementary to Eaton's electrical and power work for data centers. It also paid $1.53 billion for Ultra PCS Limited, which provides control systems, specialized electronics, and power management for aerospace applications.

Those moves have temporarily lowered Eaton's earnings under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and increased its long-term debt by 112% to $18.5 billion. However, those concerns are somewhat mitigated by the planned spinoff of its mobility business unit, which provides Eaton with $1.1 billion to pay down debt and allows it to focus on its more profitable electrical and aerospace sectors. Eaton's dividend, which has a yield of about 1.1% and has risen by 54% during the past decade, is well-covered with a payout ratio of about 52%.

Vertiv is a cool below-the-radar choice High-powered graphics processing units (GPUs), such as AI chips, generate extreme heat. This makes traditional air conditioning insufficient, thereby driving demand for specialized liquid cooling and industrial HVAC equipment. Vertiv, based in Westerville, Ohio, specializes in data center power management and liquid cooling solutions.

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The company is starting to draw attention, and its shares are up more than 60% this year. Vertiv is a direct market leader in liquid-to-liquid and direct-to-chip liquid cooling architectures, making its technology an essential component for hyperscalers such as Nvidia, Microsoft (MSFT +1.68%), and Amazon (AMZN +3.97%) as they deploy high-density AI clusters.

Vertiv reported Q2revenue of $3.27 billion, up 24% year over year. EPS rose 53% from a year earlier to $1.27, and adjusted diluted EPS grew 60% to $1.52. Management also raised its full-year net sales projection to $14 billion, up 31% at the midpoint from 2025, and said full-year EPS would be $5.82 to $5.92, up 72% at the midpoint over 2025.

Cummins keeps the lights on for data centers Cummins, based in Columbus, Indiana, provides heavy standby power systems and generation equipment for large data centers, using advanced diesel, natural gas, hybrid, electric, and fuel cell technologies. Its shares have only risen 13% this year despite strong revenue and earnings growth.

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In Q2, it reported revenue of $9.5 billion, up 9.4% year over year, and EPS of $6.73, up 4.6%. The company's stock is trading for less than 30 times trailing earnings and for less than 20 times forward earnings. It is predicting full-year sales to climb between 10% and 13%.

It also has the best dividend yield among the three stocks, at 1.5%, based on its current share price. The company has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years, including a 9.8% increase this year to $2 a share.

AI growth without the volatility Although mega-cap tech and semiconductor stocks have dominated headlines during the market's AI rally, picks-and-shovels AI stocks are leveraging physical constraints into substantial revenue growth while offering investors lower valuation multiples and steady dividend returns.

Eaton and Vertiv lead the charge inside and outside the modern server farm. Eaton has positioned itself as an essential bridge between data centers and the electrical grid. Meanwhile, Vertiv offers exposure to high-density thermal management, where traditional air conditioning fails. Cummins provides the crucial emergency power and grid stabilization necessary to keep mission-critical facilities online. All three stocks illustrate how value-oriented investors can capture structural AI tailwinds without overpaying for hyper-growth technology plays.

Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT - Free Report) closed the last trading session at $263.81, gaining 18.3% over the past four weeks, but there could be plenty of upside left in the stock if short-term price targets set by Wall Street analysts are any guide. The mean price target of $338.79 indicates a 28.4% upside potential.

The mean estimate comprises 24 short-term price targets with a standard deviation of $39.16. While the lowest estimate of $245.00 indicates a 7.1% decline from the current price level, the most optimistic analyst expects the stock to surge 56.2% to reach $412.00. It's very important to note the standard deviation here, as it helps understand the variability of the estimates. The smaller the standard deviation, the greater the agreement among analysts.

While the consensus price target is a much-coveted metric for investors, solely banking on this metric to make an investment decision may not be wise at all. That's because the ability and unbiasedness of analysts in setting price targets have long been questionable.

However, an impressive consensus price target is not the only factor that indicates a potential upside in VRT. This view is strengthened by the agreement among analysts that the company will report better earnings than what they estimated earlier. Though a positive trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't give any idea as to how much the stock could surge, it has proven effective in predicting an upside.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Here's What You May Not Know About Analysts' Price TargetsAccording to researchers at several universities across the globe, a price target is one of many pieces of information about a stock that misleads investors far more often than it guides. In fact, empirical research shows that price targets set by several analysts, irrespective of the extent of agreement, rarely indicate where the price of a stock could actually be heading.

While Wall Street analysts have deep knowledge of a company's fundamentals and the sensitivity of its business to economic and industry issues, many of them tend to set overly optimistic price targets. Are you wondering why?

They usually do that to drum up interest in shares of companies that their firms either have existing business relationships with or are looking to be associated with. In other words, business incentives of firms covering a stock often result in inflated price targets set by analysts.

However, a tight clustering of price targets, which is represented by a low standard deviation, indicates that analysts have a high degree of agreement about the direction and magnitude of a stock's price movement. While that doesn't necessarily mean the stock will hit the average price target, it could be a good starting point for further research aimed at identifying the potential fundamental driving forces.

That said, while investors should not entirely ignore price targets, making an investment decision solely based on them could lead to disappointing ROI. So, price targets should always be treated with a high degree of skepticism.

Why VRT Could Witness a Solid UpsideThere has been increasing optimism among analysts lately about the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher. And that could be a legitimate reason to expect an upside in the stock. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has increased 5.1% over the past month, as seven estimates have gone higher compared to no negative revision.

Moreover, VRT currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than 4,000 stocks that we rank based on four factors related to earnings estimates. Given an impressive externally-audited track record, this is a more conclusive indication of the stock's potential upside in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

Therefore, while the consensus price target may not be a reliable indicator of how much VRT could gain, the direction of price movement it implies does appear to be a good guide.

, /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Vertiv Holdings Co ("Vertiv" or the "Company") (NYSE: VRT).  Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Vertiv and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. 

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On July 29, 2026, Vertiv reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2026.  Among other items, Vertiv reported net sales of $3.27 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion.  Vertiv said that its revenue reflected "minor timing shifts," primarily due to temporary supply chain congestion and multi-phased project execution as deployments become larger and more complex. 

On this news, Vertiv's stock price fell $46.52 per share, or 17.26%, to close at $223.04 per share on July 29, 2026.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:
Danielle Peyton
Pomerantz LLP
[email protected]
646-581-9980 ext. 7980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

The booming demand for artificial intelligence is a tailwind for Vertiv (VRT -4.53%).

*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of Aug. 24, 2026. The video was published on Aug.26, 2026.

Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vertiv. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

Key Takeaways Vertiv lifted adjusted operating margin to 22.6% as sales rose 24% in the second quarter of 2026. Vertiv expects third-quarter adjusted margins of 24%-25%, backed by growth, leverage and productivity. Amphenol's margin reached 29.8%, while Super Micro Computer's rose to 14.3% in fiscal 2026. Vertiv (VRT - Free Report) is benefiting from significant margin gains, positioning itself as a formidable competitor in the data center infrastructure sector from companies like Amphenol (APH - Free Report) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI - Free Report) . In the second quarter of 2026, the company reported an adjusted operating margin of 22.6%, a substantial increase of 410 basis points year over year and well above its previous guidance. This margin expansion was driven by disciplined operational execution, productivity improvements and favorable price-cost dynamics, partially offset by tariff impacts.

VRT’s robust margin performance is underpinned by strong sales growth across key regions. Net sales in the second quarter of 2026 were up 24% compared to the prior year, with the Americas and APAC regions each growing by 29%. The EMEA region returned to positive sales growth, further supporting the company’s global momentum.

When comparing Vertiv to peers like Amphenol and Super Micro Computer, Vertiv’s margin gains and operational momentum stand out. While Amphenol and Super Micro Computer are also benefiting from secular trends in data center and AI infrastructure, Vertiv’s focus on end-to-end solutions for power and thermal management, as well as its ability to scale complex projects globally, provides it with a unique competitive edge. Vertiv’s collaboration with NVIDIA and VisionBay AI in Taiwan showcases its leadership in deploying both AC and 800-volt DC architectures, which increases Vertiv’s content opportunity per megawatt and differentiates it from competitors.

Vertiv remains confident in the persistence of strong operating margins. For the third quarter of 2026, adjusted operating profit is projected to be between $898 million and $938 million, with an adjusted operating margin of 24% to 25%, supported by organic growth, operating leverage and productivity. Regional manufacturing, supply chain actions and disciplined capacity investment remain key to sustaining the margin trajectory as projects scale. Management raised 2026 adjusted operating margin guidance to 23.3%-24.3% and expects pricing to exceed inflation, including current tariffs and countermeasures.

How Competitors Fare Against VRTVertiv’s AI infrastructure solutions are facing increasing competition from Amphenol and Super Micro Computer. Both Amphenol and Super Micro Computer are expanding their offerings to support high-density, AI-driven data center deployments.

Amphenol is benefiting from a significant expansion in its operating margins. In the second quarter of 2026, adjusted operating income was $2.61 billion, up 80.2% year over year. Adjusted operating margin improved 420 basis points (bps) year over year to 29.8%, driven by robust operating leverage on significantly higher sales volumes. A major factor behind this margin expansion is Amphenol’s broad-based growth across diverse end markets. In the second quarter of 2026, IT datacom represented about 43% of sales and grew 63% organically year over year.

Super Micro Computer is evolving from just a server and hardware vendor into a full IT solutions provider. Products like DCBBS (Data Center Building Block Solutions) bundle hardware, software, cooling, networking and support into complete systems. This strategy increases revenue per deal and improves margins. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, non-GAAP operating margin increased to 14.3% from 7.2% in the previous quarter.

Vertiv’s Share Price Performance, Valuation, and EstimatesVRT’s shares have surged 63.3% year to date compared with the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s 15.8% rise. The Zacks Computers - IT Services industry declined 14.1% over the same period.

VRT Stock Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Vertiv stock is trading at a premium, with a trailing 12-month Price/Book of 21.41X compared with the Computer and Technology sector’s 8.48X. VRT has a Value Score of D.

VRT Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $6.64 per share, which has increased 3.58% over the past 30 days. This indicates a 58.10% increase from the year-ago quarter.

Vertiv currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Allworth Financial LP decreased its position in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT – Free Report) by 63.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,684 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Vertiv were worth $5,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRT. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Vertiv by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertiv in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vertiv by 211.3% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Vertiv during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Vertiv during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $370.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vertiv from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Vertiv from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Fox Advisors raised Vertiv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Vertiv from $418.00 to $337.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.83.

Read Our Latest Report on VRT
Vertiv Stock Performance
Shares of Vertiv stock opened at $264.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $101.73 billion, a PE ratio of 59.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $295.45 and a 200-day moving average of $287.04. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 1-year low of $118.70 and a 1-year high of $379.93.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 50.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Vertiv has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.770-1.830 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.66%.

Vertiv Profile
(Free Report)

Vertiv is a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions for data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial environments. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the company designs, manufactures and services equipment and software that support power availability, thermal management and IT infrastructure management for a broad set of end markets, including hyperscale and enterprise data centers, colocation providers, telecom operators and industrial customers.

The company’s product portfolio includes uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power distribution units (PDUs), battery and DC power systems, precision cooling and thermal management equipment, racks and enclosures, and integrated modular infrastructure.

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Key Takeaways AI data center expansion is driving demand for servers, networking, optics, power and cooling systems.Hyperscalers are expected to spend $720B-$745B on 2026 capex, much of it on AI infrastructure.Dell, Celestica, Lumentum and Vertiv each target a different layer of AI data center infrastructure. Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming one of the biggest investment themes in technology, but the opportunity extends far beyond chipmakers. As hyperscalers race to build AI infrastructure, they need much more than advanced processors. They require servers, networking systems, optical components, power equipment, cooling systems and other critical data center infrastructure.

This creates an attractive opportunity for investors looking beyond traditional semiconductor stocks. Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta Platforms are expected to spend roughly $720 billion to $745 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, with a large portion directed toward AI infrastructure. The scale of this spending is creating a powerful demand environment for companies that help build and operate AI data centers.

Against this backdrop, Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL - Free Report) , Celestica Inc. (CLS - Free Report) , Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE - Free Report) and Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT - Free Report) stand out as four stocks positioned to benefit from the expansion of AI infrastructure.

Dell Technologies offers exposure to AI servers, Celestica benefits from data center connectivity and systems, Lumentum provides critical optical technologies, while Vertiv addresses power and cooling requirements. Their businesses are different, but they share one important growth driver — the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure.

For investors looking beyond semiconductor stocks, these four companies offer diversified ways to participate in the AI data center boom. The key question is no longer simply which company makes the best AI chip, but which businesses provide the infrastructure needed to deploy those chips at massive scale.

These stocks have a favorable combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy), offering solid investment opportunities.

Dell Technologies: Riding on the AI Server BoomDell Technologies is becoming an increasingly important beneficiary of the AI data center buildout because its portfolio extends beyond traditional personal computers (PCs) into servers, storage and infrastructure solutions. Its AI-optimized servers are particularly well-positioned as enterprises and hyperscalers expand computing capacity.

The company's recent results highlight the strength of this opportunity. Dell Technologies reported record quarterly revenues of $43.84 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 88% year over year. The company generated $16.1 billion in AI server revenues during the first quarter and received record AI server orders worth $24.4 billion. Buoyed by strong quarterly performance, the company raised its AI server revenue expectations for fiscal 2027 to about $60 billion.

With hyperscalers and enterprises continuing to expand AI computing capacity, Dell Technologies has a strong opportunity to convert its growing AI server pipeline into sustained revenue and earnings growth. Its AI server backlog stood at $51.3 billion at the end of the first quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dell Technologies’ fiscal 2027 revenues and earnings per share (EPS) indicates year-over-year increases of approximately 54.6% and 86%, respectively. DELL currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Celestica: A Key Link in AI InfrastructureCelestica is another under-the-radar beneficiary of AI data center expansion. The company provides data center infrastructure and advanced technology solutions, including connectivity, servers and storage systems. This makes its Connectivity & Cloud Solutions (“CCS”) business particularly relevant to the AI infrastructure cycle.

Celestica's financial performance shows how rapidly demand is accelerating. Second-quarter 2026 revenues jumped 62% year over year to $4.70 billion, while adjusted EPS surged 83% to $2.54. Robust momentum in the CCS business remained the primary growth driver. CCS revenues soared 84% year over year to $3.81 billion, reflecting sustained strength in data center infrastructure demand.

Celestica also raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to $20.5 billion from the earlier projection of $19 billion and adjusted EPS forecast to $11.30 from $10.15. The updated guidance for revenue and adjusted EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 65% and 87%, respectively.

CLS expects growth to accelerate further in 2027, supported by new programs and improved visibility with customers. Its close relationships with large cloud and data center customers, including Google, Meta Platforms, Amazon and Microsoft, could give Celestica considerable visibility as AI infrastructure investments continue.

For investors seeking exposure to the physical infrastructure behind AI without directly owning a chipmaker, CLS offers an increasingly compelling avenue. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Celestica’s 2026 revenues and EPS indicates year-over-year increases of approximately 64.3% and 78.5%, respectively. CLS currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A.

Lumentum: Powering Faster AI NetworksAI data centers need enormous amounts of data to move rapidly between processors, memory and other systems. This makes high-speed optical connectivity increasingly important, creating a significant opportunity for Lumentum. The company develops optical components and systems used in advanced data center networks. Its opportunity is expanding as AI clusters become larger and require faster, more efficient connections.

Lumentum's fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 net revenues reached a record $1.01 billion, more than doubling from $480.7 million a year earlier, propelled by surging cloud and AI demand. Systems revenues came in at $356.9 million, rising 29.7% sequentially and 122.6% year over year. Cloud transceivers and Optical Circuit Switching were the main sequential growth drivers, with factories executing against aggressive production plans despite pockets of component supply tightness.

Lumentum expects continued growth momentum, at least in the near term. The midpoints of revenues and adjusted EPS guidance range for first-quarter fiscal 2027 indicate a year-over-year increase of 130% and 282%, respectively.

Management’s first-quarter guidance is supported by continued EML (Electro-absorption Modulated Laser) growth, scale-across components like pump and narrow linewidth lasers and a ramp-up in 1.6T transceivers. The company's strategic importance is further highlighted by NVIDIA’s commitment to invest $2 billion in Lumentum while promising multiyear purchases and capacity access for advanced laser components.

As AI clusters scale, demand for higher-speed optical connections should increase, giving Lumentum a potentially powerful long-term growth runway. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s fiscal 2027 revenues and EPS suggests year-over-year increases of approximately 106.3% and 115.8%, respectively. LITE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a Growth Score of A.

Vertiv: The Power and Cooling PlayBuilding more AI data centers creates another challenge of keeping increasingly powerful computing systems supplied with electricity and operating at safe temperatures. This is where Vertiv plays a critical role.

Vertiv provides power management, thermal management and other critical digital infrastructure solutions used inside data centers. Its products are becoming increasingly important as AI workloads drive higher rack densities and greater power consumption.

The company's second-quarter 2026 revenues increased 24% year over year to $3.27 billion, while adjusted EPS jumped 60% to $1.52. Strong demand and expanding customer pipelines prompted Vertiv to raise its full-year 2026 revenue guidance range to $13.8-$14.2 billion from $13.5-$14 billion projected earlier. Adjusted EPS is now expected to be in the range of $6.65-$6.75, up from the previous forecast of $6.30-$6.40.

The company’s robust top-line growth suggests that AI-related infrastructure spending is translating into real demand for power and cooling equipment. As AI data centers become larger and more energy-intensive, Vertiv could remain a major beneficiary.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Vertiv’s 2026 revenue and EPS indicates year-over-year increases of approximately 36.6% and 58.1%, respectively. VRT currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a Growth Score of A.

NEW YORK, Aug. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Vertiv Holdings Co (“Vertiv” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VRT). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Vertiv and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. 

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On July 29, 2026, Vertiv reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2026. Among other items, Vertiv reported net sales of $3.27 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Vertiv said that its revenue reflected “minor timing shifts,” primarily due to temporary supply chain congestion and multi-phased project execution as deployments become larger and more complex. 

On this news, Vertiv’s stock price fell $46.52 per share, or 17.26%, to close at $223.04 per share on July 29, 2026.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

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CONTACT:
Danielle Peyton
Pomerantz LLP
[email protected]
646-581-9980 ext. 7980

Key Takeaways Hundreds of billions are being poured out for AI-related infrastructure. Spending is expected to remain robust as the buildout continues. VRT and AVGO both reflect strong beneficiaries amid the spending frenzy. The AI spending race shifted into a higher gear during this earnings season, with Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta reporting roughly $170 billion in capital expenditures (CapEx).

Microsoft reported $41 billion of CapEx, Alphabet spent $44.9 billion and raised its full-year CapEx forecast, Meta deployed $31.1 billion while maintaining its outlook, and Amazon led the group with $54.2 billion in property and equipment purchases.

The spending is also showing returns, muting much of the previous skepticism we’ve all grown accustomed to in recent years. Microsoft is monetizing enterprise AI, Amazon and Alphabet are benefiting from accelerating cloud demand, and Meta’s AI-enhanced advertising business is helping fund its infrastructure buildout.

The spending surge creates a powerful demand tailwind across the AI infrastructure supply chain, with companies like Vertiv (VRT - Free Report) and Broadcom (AVGO - Free Report) reflecting major beneficiaries.

Vertiv Cools Data CentersVertiv’s Q2 revenue grew 24% to $3.3 billion in its latest period, with the demand picture leading it to also raise its full-year outlook. Its power management and high-density cooling systems benefit from the rising electricity and heat management requirements of AI data centers.

The stock sports a favorable Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) thanks to favorable EPS revisions stemming from the favorable environment. Revenue revisions have unsurprisingly followed a similar bullish path, with the $13.9 billion Zacks Consensus estimate for its current fiscal year rising 21% since last August and suggesting 36% YoY growth compared to FY25.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Broadcom AI Semiconductor Revenue SurgesBroadcom’s Q2 revenue soared 48% to $22.2 billion, while AI semiconductor revenue surged an even more impressive 143% YoY to $10.8 billion on demand for custom accelerators and networking. Broadcom expects AI revenue to reach $16 billion next quarter, underscoring how strong its growth story will remain in the coming periods.

Sales estimates for Broadcom’s current and next fiscal years have been aggressively raised, with annual revenue expected to soar 66% in FY26 and 65% in FY27.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Bottom Line

Investors have hundreds of billions of reasons why to remain bullish on the AI buildout, particularly for companies like Vertiv (VRT - Free Report) and Broadcom (AVGO - Free Report) , as companies continue to invest heavily in their AI futures.

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Stock to Watch: Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT - Free Report) Vertiv is a leading global provider of critical digital infrastructure and services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments. Vertiv serves essential industries, including cloud computing, financial services, healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, energy, government, education, retail and social media.

VRT is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Additionally, the company could be a top pick for growth investors. VRT has a Growth Style Score of A, forecasting year-over-year earnings growth of 58.1% for the current fiscal year.

Eight analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.24 to $6.64 per share. VRT boasts an average earnings surprise of +12.6%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Growth and VGM Style Scores, VRT should be on investors' short list.

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Shares of fast-rising liquid cooling star Vertiv (NASDAQ:VRT | VRT Price Prediction) have been sharply rallying in recent weeks shortly after it seemed like the AI data center trade as we knew it was due for a vicious implosion.

As it turned out, it was just another run-of-the-mill correction and one that led to a swift V-shaped bounce. Unless you levered up and the margin calls rang the phone off the hook, the latest AI dip was more of a correction and less of a “beginning of the end,” so to speak.

Of course, if you rode Vertiv shares all the way from peak to trough, you faced a rapid drop of more than 40%. That’s more than just a correction, but when it comes to the high-flying world of AI data center plays, that’s the price to play in the hyper-growth heroes. When it comes to Vertiv, sell-side analysts aren’t ready to recommend taking profits off the table, at least not quite yet.

It’s hard to believe, but the firm, which gained around 280% in two years, is now a $111 billion company. As the firm keeps next-generation GPUs cool while the number of ambitious 1-gigawatt (and beyond) AI data centers goes up, the demand for top-of-the-line cooling infrastructure, I think, might just lead to even more growth surprises for the likes of Vertiv.

It’s the liquid cooling play
Undoubtedly, Vertiv stock as an AI buildout play is really no secret anymore. And at 65.2 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E), it feels like the easy money has been made, even as shares look to extend recent strength brought on by a decent, but not jaw-dropping, quarterly earnings beat, which initially didn’t excite as much.

In any case, liquid cooling is critical AI infrastructure now. And the bull thesis only stands to get stronger as hot AI clusters pave the way for greater thermal density that brings forth the need for the very best heat-rejection infrastructure.

Indeed, I think we’ve gone past the era where data centers can rely on air cooling to keep things from boiling over. As the AI buildout intensifies and CapEx of the hyperscalers goes into overdrive, my guess is that Vertiv could face re-accelerating revenues alongside an enviable operating margin profile.

Vertiv can keep winning as the AI buildout intensifies
For the second half of the year, revenues are already expected to crank things up a notch. Beyond that, though, is where the real surprises could lie from a firm that’s sitting front-row center to this AI data center buildout. Any way you look at it, it’s just too risky and expensive not to pay Vertiv for its services, especially as the chokepoint shifts from semiconductors to the physical “plumbing.”

As the backlog swells and other bottlenecks are alleviated, there’s every reason to believe that the AI buildout will accelerate further. And, with that, Vertiv’s backlog could continue to rise from here. Of course, the hyperscalers might be the biggest needle-movers, but, in my view, that’s certainly not a bad thing. We know that the mega-cap tech titans are good for the money and, most importantly, they’ve signaled that they’re ready to spend even more.

With the sell-side crowd staying predominantly bullish on the high-flyer, perhaps it’s time to give Vertiv every bit of respect that the semi plays have been getting these days. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analyst Chris Snyder sees shares gaining to $350 per share, thanks in part to its significant data center exposure and impressive backlog.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Schall, Brown & Schwartz LLP (“SBS”), a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Vertiv Holdings Co (“Vertiv” or “the Company”) (NYSE: VRT) for violations of the securities laws. INVESTIGATION DETAILS: The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors.