AI Infrastructure Play: Why These Three Chip and Power Giants Matter for 2026

The AI buildout is entering a critical phase. Global AI capital spending is forecast to hit $571 billion in 2026, and three semiconductor and infrastructure leaders are positioned to capture the lion’s share of this historic opportunity: Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), and Vertiv (VRT).

Each company anchors a different layer of the AI value chain. NVDA dominates compute through GPU leadership. AVGO powers custom silicon and networking for hyperscalers. VRT provides the physical backbone—power management, cooling, and thermal solutions that make AI deployment possible at scale. Together, they represent a diversified bet on the infrastructure boom.

The Core Investment Thesis

Despite short-term market volatility, the fundamental demand drivers remain intact. AI workloads are pushing technical limits higher, creating durable demand for specialized hardware and infrastructure solutions. All three companies trade at reasonable valuations relative to their growth profiles, and recent earnings momentum suggests further upside as 2026 unfolds.

The risk-reward setup is favorable at current levels. Even if weakness persists near-term, any dips appear tactical rather than structural. Support levels are holding firm across the board, suggesting the market is positioning for the next leg higher once volatility subsides.

Nvidia: Acquisition Shows Aggressive Positioning

Nvidia’s strategic moves reveal how seriously the company takes competition in advanced chips. Its $20 billion asset acquisition from AI chip startup Groq—founded by former Google TPU architects—signals NVDA’s determination to maintain its moat at the cutting edge. The deal integrates Groq’s leadership into Nvidia’s structure, embedding their inference-focused silicon expertise into the larger organization.

From a fundamental standpoint, NVDA remains on offense. Earnings estimates have climbed nearly 16% over the past two months, with consensus calling for 46.3% annual EPS growth over the next three to five years. At approximately 40.6x forward earnings, valuation appears justified given the company’s role in the most significant technology cycle in over a decade.

Technically, NVDA has broken decisively higher after months of choppy, sideways trading. The stock cleared a descending wedge formation during the low-volume holiday period, a constructive chart pattern suggesting further gains lie ahead. As long as prices hold above the breakout level, the technical setup points to continued upside as 2026 begins.

Broadcom: Strategic Depth in Custom Silicon

Broadcom’s true value has become increasingly apparent as Alphabet reasserted its AI leadership. Google’s internal deployment of Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for nearly a decade created a powerful competitive advantage, and Broadcom sits at the heart of that ecosystem.

While TPUs wear the Google brand, Broadcom provides the underlying architectural expertise in ASIC design, networking, and high-speed interconnects—the technical plumbing that allows Google to scale these systems reliably across hyperscale infrastructure. As Alphabet aggressively expands AI capacity across search, cloud, and generative AI models, custom silicon becomes economically essential. Generic GPUs can’t match the efficiency of purpose-built chips for specific workloads.

Broadcom’s entrenchment in this ecosystem is deep and difficult to disrupt. The company helps design chips optimized for inference, training, and internal Google workloads where off-the-shelf solutions fall short. This positions AVGO as a durable beneficiary of Alphabet’s AI infrastructure build.

Fundamentally, consensus forecasts 35.7% annual EPS growth over the next three to five years. Trading at roughly 36x forward earnings, valuation remains reasonable for this growth rate and strategic positioning. Recent consolidation near a level that held since late summer suggests the technical picture looks constructive. As long as support holds, the current setup favors patient accumulation.

Vertiv: The Physical Infrastructure Angle

Vertiv occupies a unique niche—it’s perhaps the purest play on the physical backbone of AI deployment. The company supplies critical power delivery, cooling systems, and thermal management to hyperscale data centers and enterprise operators. This positioning insulates VRT from some of the cyclicality that affects pure-play chip stocks.

Recent developments underscore the strength of underlying demand. Vertiv has announced expanded partnerships with major data center operators and hyperscalers, while management highlighted accelerating backlog growth tied directly to AI-driven capacity expansion. High-density cooling solutions are exceeding demand expectations as next-generation workloads push power and thermal requirements higher.

Earnings estimates continue trending upward, with consensus calling for 30.2% annual EPS growth over the next three to five years. Operating leverage and margin expansion are materializing as volumes grow. While VRT trades at 40.6x forward earnings, this multiple appears justified given the company’s elevated growth rate, expanding addressable market, and increasingly indispensable role in AI infrastructure.

Technically, VRT recently bounced cleanly off support within a well-defined rising channel after a sharp advance earlier in the cycle. The key level to watch on the upside is around $180, which marks the top of the current trading range. A decisive breakout above that resistance would signal the next major move higher. Until then, the risk-reward profile remains attractive near current support levels.

The Bottom Line

Nvidia, Broadcom, and Vertiv offer complementary exposure to three critical layers of the AI infrastructure buildout—compute, custom silicon and networking, and physical infrastructure. Near-term volatility is inevitable, but fundamentals and long-term demand visibility remain solid. With each company positioned at a crucial point in the AI value chain and trading near important technical levels, the current setup favors opportunistic buying as the investment cycle extends through 2026 and beyond.

The anchor for patient investors is clear: AI capital spending is projected to accelerate, and these three companies sit at the center of where that capital flows. Recent chart action suggests the market is beginning to recognize this reality.