Investors looking for a bright spot in an otherwise bleak 2025 equity market have been encouraged by the explosive growth in the digital infrastructure industry, specifically in data centers and related fields. The rapid commercial adaptation of artificial intelligence, the incredible growth of cloud computing, the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies and the ongoing expansion of the internet are all contributing to a huge surge in demand for digital infrastructure.
That’s not to mention all the peripheral products and services, such as commercial real estate, air conditioning equipment, wires, switches and a seemingly never-ending demand for affordable energy.
[Sign up for stock news with our Invested newsletter.]
Just this year, Amazon.com Inc. (ticker: AMZN) announced an ambitious $11 billion investment to expand its data center footprint in Butts and Douglas Counties, Georgia to support its AI and cloud computing efforts. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) has likewise committed to spending $75 billion in 2025 on data center infrastructure, a level that surprised even the most optimistic Wall Street analysts, exceeding previous estimates by 29%.
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) said it will spend up to $65 billion on data center expansion this year. But the biggest data center news of the year was the launch of an initiative called The Stargate Project. That $500 billion undertaking will see ChatGPT-maker OpenAI join forces with SoftBank Group Corp. (OTC: SFTBY) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL) to build one of the world’s largest data center complexes in Abilene, Texas.
An April 9 announcement by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) that it was scaling back some of its data center plans initially gave investors pause, but the company quickly reiterated its plans to spend $80 billion on data centers in fiscal 2025 and remains a powerhouse in the digital infrastructure industry. Microsoft’s announcement represented a realignment and adjustment, but not an abandonment of its grand plans for expanding data centers.
In short, despite a volatile and unpredictable equity market and some growing pains, the expansion of data centers across the whole of the tech industry is continuing at a rapid pace.
If you’re researching data center investments, these seven securities — which include stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs) — are an excellent place to start. No one can predict future performance, but every investment on this list is poised to benefit from the current and long-term growth of that dynamic industry:
| Security | Market cap/assets |
| Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) | $63 billion |
| Digital Realty Trust Inc. (DLR) | $52 billion |
| Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT) | $30 billion |
| American Tower Corp. (AMT) | $98 billion |
| Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate SCTR ETF (SRVR) | $393 million |
| Equinix Inc. (EQIX) | $79 billion |
| Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) | $2.5 trillion |
Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL)
Dell Technologies was founded by Michael Dell in 1984 while young Mr. Dell was still attending the University of Texas. The company started as a small PC manufacturer but grew quickly into a direct-to-consumer PC sales powerhouse.
Today, Dell is a $63 billion hardware and IT infrastructure provider. Dell is a major server supplier for data centers in the U.S. and globally. The company offers a turnkey, one-stop shopping solution for AI data center deployment. Dell is an equipment provider to several data center giants, including Amazon Web Services and Google.
Global data center hardware and software spending grew by 34% to $282 billion in 2024, according to Synergy Research Group, and should grow by at least that same pace in 2025. Dell is well positioned to take advantage of that growth.
The stock pays a forward dividend yield of 2.1%.
Digital Realty Trust Inc. (DLR)
Digital Realty Trust is a digital infrastructure REIT with a market cap of about $52 billion. DLR is a premier real estate company with an equity interest in more than 300 data centers globally. It has facilities in more than 25 countries that comprise over 40 million square feet of climate-controlled rentable space.
DLR is organized as a REIT, but it’s not just a real estate company. This innovative firm is something of a tech company in its own right. DLR provides an advanced data processing and retrieval system called PlatformDIGITAL. The hardware and software platform processes, stores and allows for on-demand, instant retrieval of data.
According to Wall Street consensus estimates, DLR will generate $5.9 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025 and $6.5 billion in 2026. If it can achieve those numbers, it would represent an increase of about 11%.
DLR pays a forward yield of 3.3%.
Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT)
Vertiv Holdings is what’s known as a lifecycle services company in the data center industry. It designs, manufactures, distributes, installs and services a comprehensive range of data center products that span the entire lifecycle of a center’s operation.
The company has a market cap of about $30 billion. Its products include server racking and wiring systems, power and energy management systems, high-speed communications networks, fans, and air conditioning condensers.
The incredible growth in data centers has translated into excellent demand for Vertiv’s products. In its first-quarter earnings report, VRT announced adjusted diluted earnings per share of 64 cents, up 49% year over year, and a net sales increase of 24%.
Investors considering VRT will be encouraged by the company’s partnership with tech giant Nvidia Corp. (NVDA).
[Read: 6 of the Best AI ETFs to Buy for 2025]
American Tower Corp. (AMT)
American Tower is a $98 billion leader in cellular communications towers. In addition to facilitating cell phone communication, its strategically located cell towers are instrumental in sending and receiving the digital data that’s processed and stored at data centers around the world. AMT owns more than 225,000 antennas that are leased to cell carriers and tech companies throughout North America.
AMT is rapidly expanding beyond cell towers into direct ownership of data centers. In 2023, the company acquired data center company CoreSite. It now owns 28 full-service, fully leased data centers and is actively looking to expand its holdings.
AMT is organized as a REIT, and it has a current forward dividend yield of 3.1%.
Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate SCTR ETF (SRVR)
SRVR is a digital infrastructure ETF with net assets topping $393 million. The fund invests in data center stocks, data companies, digital infrastructure firms and related tech companies. The majority of the portfolio is REITs, but the fund’s managers can invest in any company that meets its stated criteria.
According to the fund’s literature, it looks for growth stocks in digital technology support, data centers, communication towers and cloud computing. SRVR is not an index fund, but it uses the GPR 250 Index and the GPR Pure Infrastructure Index as its primary benchmarks. It selects the stocks for its portfolio from the components of those two indexes.
This actively managed ETF has an expense ratio of 0.55% and a dividend yield of 1.7%.
Equinix Inc. (EQIX)
With a market cap of $79 billion, EQIX is the largest dedicated data center REIT on the market. The company operates about 260 data centers in 33 countries. It serves more than 10,000 customers and is known for its wide global footprint and network-dense infrastructure.
Its customers include cloud computing companies, financial firms and digital payment companies, health care companies, manufacturers, online retailers and communications networks.
The company’s stated mission is to support digital infrastructure around the world and help the technology industry seamlessly meet its fast-growing demand. It accomplishes this by leveraging connectivity to improve its clients’ performance.
As a REIT, the stock pays a consistent dividend. Its current dividend yield is 2.4%.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
NVDA designs and distributes the world’s most advanced AI chips. Several of the company’s chips are critical for the efficient operation of AI-focused data centers. The company gained preeminence in the field in 2020 and remains dominant in the data center market. For example, The Stargate Project will require up to 400,000 of Nvidia’s GB200 AI chips at its first site.
AI data center chips are only a part of Nvidia’s business. The company is a leader in gaming processors and all aspects of AI deep-learning applications. Most tech analysts believe NVDA is well ahead of its competition in the engineering and manufacturing of the most advanced chips in the world.
Despite the stock’s dismal year-to-date performance, NVDA still has a market cap of about $2.5 trillion. No one knows when the stock will turn around, but demand for the firm’s chips are still strong and, by all accounts, will remain strong for the foreseeable future.
More from U.S. News
The 7 Best Monthly Dividend ETFs to Buy Now
7 Best Monthly Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now
The 5 Best Gold ETFs to Buy for 2025 and Beyond
7 Best Data Center Stocks, ETFs and REITs to Buy Now originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/23/25: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
