NEW YORK, January 3, 2026, 12:56 ET — Market closed
Data center stocks ended the first trading day of 2026 on Friday with a sharp split between infrastructure suppliers and real estate landlords. Vertiv Holdings (VRT) jumped 8.4% and Applied Digital (APLD) rose 14.6%. Power-management supplier Eaton (ETN) gained 2.8%, while Digital Realty (DLR) and Iron Mountain (IRM) edged up and Equinix (EQIX) slipped.
The moves matter now because investors are starting the year re-pricing what the AI data center build-out means for earnings, not just revenue. Stocks tied to power delivery and cooling can benefit when customers pack more computing into each facility.
Early-January trading can also amplify brokerage calls as investors rebalance after year-end. That matters for a niche corner of the market where a single upgrade can pull money across related names.
Barclays analyst Julian Mitchell upgraded Vertiv to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised his price target to $200 from $181, TheFly reported. Mitchell called the pullback an “attractive entry point” and said Vertiv’s initial 2026 guidance, its outlook, should still top the Street’s consensus — the average analyst forecast — at the high end. On Wall Street, an Overweight rating signals the analyst expects the stock to outperform. TipRanks
Vertiv sells power and cooling gear used in data centers, where AI workloads are driving higher electricity and heat loads. Investors have treated the group as a way to play AI spending without betting directly on chipmakers.
Eaton’s rise kept attention on the electrical hardware needed to route and manage power inside and around data centers. Applied Digital’s bigger jump underscored the speculative end of the trade, where earnings updates can drive outsized moves.
Data center landlords were steadier. Digital Realty and Equinix are REITs — real estate investment trusts that own property and typically pay most taxable income as dividends — so they can trade more like rate-sensitive real estate than fast-growth tech.
Investors are watching for fresh signals on data center demand, including customer expansion plans, available power connections and pricing for high-density space. For equipment suppliers, order growth and margins remain the key read-through when companies report.
Before next session, traders will look to see whether Vertiv can build on Friday’s spike and push back toward levels near $200. The stock is still below its 52-week high of $202.45, according to the company’s investor site.
Macro data could also steer rate-sensitive REITs and high-multiple infrastructure stocks. The U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release the Employment Situation report for December on January 9, followed by the December Consumer Price Index on January 13, its calendar showed.
On the company calendar, Applied Digital said it will report fiscal second-quarter results after the market closes on January 7 and hold a conference call at 5 p.m. ET. For the larger names, Zacks expects Vertiv and Equinix to report results on February 11 and Digital Realty on February 12, though companies can change dates.
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