We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
AI Bottlenecks: 3 Stocks Poised to Gain from AI Buildout
Buy the AI Picks and Shovels
Long-time readers of mine know that my favorite fundamental stories are “pick and shovel” investments. For instance, during the gold rush, the businesses that sold the picks, shovels, and denim jeans required for gold mining often did better than the gold miners themselves, because, unlike mining, profits were predictable and consistent.
Meanwhile, there are numerous examples throughout history. During the U.S. oil fracking boom of the early 2000s, energy workers were required to live in remote places, with little housing. This led to a surge in demand for RVs.
AI Spending Soaring (& Will Continue To)
Despite constant fears of an internet-like bubble, America’s top tech companies continue to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure to capture their share of the AI market. In 2025, the hyperscalers, which include Microsoft, Alphabet,Amazon, Meta and Oracle accounted for $390 billion in CAPEX spending. Despite fears of overspending, AI CAPEX spending is expected to maintain momentum, reaching $515 billion this year and ~$600 billion in 2027.
Who Will Benefit the Most from AI Spending?
Below are 3 AI Bottlenecks to Watch
Flash Memory Stocks
Micron and Sandisk are the two leading suppliers of memory and storage infrastructure required for AI data centers. Storage and memory are critical ingredients needed for training AI models. Currently, demand is so high that Micron has already announced its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is sold out for 2026. Meanwhile, SNDK shares jumped on Tuesday after Taiwan’s Phison CEO said NAND flash prices jumped 50% overnight amid the ongoing supply crunch.
Over the past four quarters, Sandisk has beaten Zacks Consensus Estimates by a staggering 371%!
Meanwhile, after a brief multi-week pullback, MU and SNDK shares found support at their rising 10-week moving averages, suggesting the bulls remain in control.
On-Site Energy Stocks
Amid the rapid data center buildout, legacy electric grid infrastructure is insufficient. Data centers require immense, reliable electricity. Bloom Energy provides high-efficiency, on-site solid oxide fuel cells to energy-hungry data centers. Currently, Bloom has a record backlog after a $5B deal with Brookfield. Wall Street analysts expect EPS to grow 81% in 2026 and triple-digits in 2027.
Additionally, demand is likely to soar even further as the Trump Administration seeks to push big tech companies to provide their own data center power. BE shares are currently finding support at the 10-week moving average.
AI Data Center Sites
Data center sites are in high demand, as hyperscalers continue to spend billions on AI infrastructure. IREN, which pivoted away from Bitcoin mining, is a prominent AI infrastructure provider. The company offers its clients a unique combination of power capacity, hard-to-get NVIDIA GPUs (IREN recently bought 50,000 NVDA GPUs), and existing data center sites.
Bottom Line
The AI revolution is not just a software story – it’s a massive, physical industrial buildout. Memory, energy, and data center stocks stand to benefit the most.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)
Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Shutterstock
Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, Micron, Sandisk, Bloom Energy, IREN, and NVIDIA
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 11, 2026 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Meta (META - Free Report) , Oracle (ORCL - Free Report) , Micron (MU - Free Report) , Sandisk (SNDK - Free Report) , Bloom Energy (BE - Free Report) , IREN (IREN - Free Report) and NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) .
AI Bottlenecks: 3 Stocks Poised to Gain from AI Buildout
Buy the AI Picks and Shovels
Long-time readers of mine know that my favorite fundamental stories are “pick and shovel” investments. For instance, during the gold rush, the businesses that sold the picks, shovels, and denim jeans required for gold mining often did better than the gold miners themselves, because, unlike mining, profits were predictable and consistent.
Meanwhile, there are numerous examples throughout history. During the U.S. oil fracking boom of the early 2000s, energy workers were required to live in remote places, with little housing. This led to a surge in demand for RVs.
AI Spending Soaring (& Will Continue To)
Despite constant fears of an internet-like bubble, America’s top tech companies continue to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure to capture their share of the AI market. In 2025, the hyperscalers, which include Microsoft, Alphabet,Amazon, Meta and Oracle accounted for $390 billion in CAPEX spending. Despite fears of overspending, AI CAPEX spending is expected to maintain momentum, reaching $515 billion this year and ~$600 billion in 2027.
Who Will Benefit the Most from AI Spending?
Below are 3 AI Bottlenecks to Watch
Flash Memory Stocks
Micron and Sandisk are the two leading suppliers of memory and storage infrastructure required for AI data centers. Storage and memory are critical ingredients needed for training AI models. Currently, demand is so high that Micron has already announced its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is sold out for 2026. Meanwhile, SNDK shares jumped on Tuesday after Taiwan’s Phison CEO said NAND flash prices jumped 50% overnight amid the ongoing supply crunch.
Over the past four quarters, Sandisk has beaten Zacks Consensus Estimates by a staggering 371%!
Meanwhile, after a brief multi-week pullback, MU and SNDK shares found support at their rising 10-week moving averages, suggesting the bulls remain in control.
On-Site Energy Stocks
Amid the rapid data center buildout, legacy electric grid infrastructure is insufficient. Data centers require immense, reliable electricity. Bloom Energy provides high-efficiency, on-site solid oxide fuel cells to energy-hungry data centers. Currently, Bloom has a record backlog after a $5B deal with Brookfield. Wall Street analysts expect EPS to grow 81% in 2026 and triple-digits in 2027.
Additionally, demand is likely to soar even further as the Trump Administration seeks to push big tech companies to provide their own data center power. BE shares are currently finding support at the 10-week moving average.
AI Data Center Sites
Data center sites are in high demand, as hyperscalers continue to spend billions on AI infrastructure. IREN, which pivoted away from Bitcoin mining, is a prominent AI infrastructure provider. The company offers its clients a unique combination of power capacity, hard-to-get NVIDIA GPUs (IREN recently bought 50,000 NVDA GPUs), and existing data center sites.
Bottom Line
The AI revolution is not just a software story – it’s a massive, physical industrial buildout. Memory, energy, and data center stocks stand to benefit the most.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
https://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.