The Biggest Bottleneck in AI Isn't Chips Anymore; It's Power. These 2 Stocks Could Soar in 2026.

I've long believed that artificial intelligence (AI)-related infrastructure is the best way for investors to play the growing demand for AI applications. Chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, as well as foundry titan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, are some of my favored investment opportunities in the AI space.

But it's important not to forget the power required to run AI applications. Researcher Rand Corp. estimates that global AI data center power demand will be 68 gigawatts by next year, growing to 327 gigawatts by 2030. That's a lot of power consumption. So, if you're not thinking about power consumption and which companies are best suited to capitalize on the growing demand for electricity, cables, space, and cooling technology, then you're potentially leaving a lot of money on the table.

Here are two companies positioned to profit from the ever-increasing demand for data center power.

Image source: Getty Images.

NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) may not be the first company you think of when considering artificial intelligence, but the Florida-based company is in a great position to have a massive run in the next few years. NextEra operates the largest utility company in the U.S. in Florida Power & Light, serving more than 12 million customers. And its NextEra Energy Resources segment allows the company to act as a wholesale generator of electric power.

NextEra is working with some of the industry's biggest hyperscalers to provide power for AI data centers. It announced a deal in December with Alphabet's Google Cloud to build and power multiple new AI data centers. In addition, Google will help NextEra Energy modernize its digital systems so it can use AI more broadly across the company.

The company is increasing its investment in gas-fired power plants as it plans to deliver an additional 15 gigawatts of power to data centers by 2035, with 6 GW of that energy coming from gas, management said on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call. "I'll be disappointed if we don't double our goal and deliver at least 30 gigawatts through this channel," CEO John Ketchum said.

Full-year net income was $2.97 billion, up from $2.3 billion a year ago, and earnings per share was $1.44 versus $1.12 in 2024. Management is expecting compound annual growth of at least 8% through 2032, as well as 10% dividend growth for 2026, before slowing to 6% dividend growth through 2028.

Credo Technology

Data centers need power, but they also need wiring to bundle chips and ensure everything runs efficiently. For that, my pick is Credo Technology (NASDAQ: CRDO), which provides high-speed data connectivity in data centers, 5G products, and high-performance computing.

The company's best opportunity is its Active Electrical Cables (AECs) that are connectors that use signal processors to help move data quickly and more efficiently between chips and switches. By reducing signal degradation and power consumption, the AECs are superior to passive copper wiring when relaying high-speed data.

The company recently announced a deal with TensorWave, which is an AI cloud provider that works exclusively with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, to use Credo's AECs on TensorWave's next-generation AI cluster infrastructure.

Earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 (ending Nov. 1, 2025) showed Credo's revenue of $268 million, up 272% from a year ago. Net income was $82.6 million versus a loss of $4.2 million a year ago. The company issued guidance for the fiscal third quarter of revenue in the range of $335 million to $345 million.

Why not buy both?

NextEra Energy is a regulated utility with a predictable growth window and a dividend to boot, while Credo provides a unique product that is critical to supplying the connectivity that allows GPUs to communicate efficiently. If the Rand projection of AI data center demand proves to be accurate, both of these stocks are thoughtful ways to invest in the AI build-out without buying chip stocks, giving investors some diversification to round out their AI portfolios.

Patrick Sanders has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, NextEra Energy, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.