Shares of some of the biggest names leading the artificial intelligence boom, including Palantir Technologies, Nvidia and Microsoft, have backed off from their heated advance. But in the shade of that advance, a number of fast-moving stocks that play key support roles for the AI data center energy boom have so far done a better job of standing their ground.
The stock market so far this year saw Palantir, at its peak, up more than 150% and leading the S&P 500. Major hyperscaler Oracle ran up 57%, while Nvidia stock's gain topped just short of 57%. Microsoft stock peaked in July with a 32% gain.
Despite the market's pause, its case of AI fever appears to be ongoing. On Aug. 12, Ed Maguire, senior director of research at Freedom Capital Markets, wrote the "global AI market is expected to grow from $150 billion in 2023 to $1.34 trillion by 2030."
Not all of the current stealth AI plays are likely to be long-term beneficiaries of the trend. AI programs require high speed, high capacity data centers in order to train themselves. The build up of those centers is a large component of the market's current AI fever.
Contracts to design, build, power and maintain those centers have been a driving force across multiple layers of the economy. The media spotlight has skipped over many of the companies winning those contracts. Smart money investors caught on early and have sent the stocks soaring.
A number of the companies appear on the IBD Leaderboard watchlist, the IBD 50 list of top growth stocks and IBD SwingTrader along with the IBD Sector Leaders list.
AI Stock Willdan
First up is Willdan Group, which provides civil engineering and building services, primarily for government agencies.
On Aug. 7, Willdan reported Q2 earnings growing 172% to $1.50 per share with sales totaling $95 million, up 31% vs. a year ago. The company also hoisted its 2025 adjusted EPS outlook to $3.50-$3.65, far above its previous $2.75-$2.90 view from May. Analyst consensus currently pegs full-year earnings at $3.61 per share, according to FactSet.
Willdan executives said its results and the jump in outlook were due to new contract wins. "Electricity load growth from data centers and broader electrification trends are accelerating the need for reliable power and resilient grid infrastructure, driving investment across our markets," the company said in its earnings release.
The company's work for commercial customers is mostly "centered around electricity usage at data centers, where AI-driven load growth is creating significant demand."
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Willdan Group CEO Michael Bieber said on the Aug. 7 Q2 conference call that with electricity load growth "expected to increase over the next decade, driven by data centers and electrification," Willdan is well positioned to "sustain long-term growth."
Hyperscalers and their partners hire Willdan to identify sites for data centers. Willdan also provides consulting, engineering and project management to supply electricity to the data centers in the long term.
At its peak in mid-August, WLDN shares had soared 218% this year, riding four consecutive monthly advances. The AI stealth stock backed away from that peak, but unlike Nvidia and Palantir, it has held comfortably above its 21-day exponential moving average.
Willdan stock has perfect 99 Composite Rating out of a best-possible 99. The stock also has a robust 99 Relative Strength Rating and a strong 95 EPS Rating.
Real Estate AI Play CBRE Group
In the real estate sector, CBRE Group is another stealth AI play. The combination of Coldwell Banker and Richard Ellis, CBRE provides a full range of real estate and property management services. That includes sales as investment, as well as staffing, management and maintenance services for AI data centers.
While Microsoft, Nvidia and Palantir ceded more ground on Tuesday, CBRE stock plucked a new high, up 2% year to date and in the top 100 stocks on the S&P 500 index.
The company projects a full-year profit increase of around 20% vs. last year to between $6.10-$6.20 per share. Analyst consensus has 2025 earnings totaling $6.11 per share, according to FactSet.
Further out, analysts also forecast full-year EPS hitting $11.70 in 2029, which would represent 130% growth compared to 2024.
CBRE CFO Emma Giamartino told analysts on the July 29 Q2 conference call that quarterly U.S. property sales increased 25%, "with notable strength in data centers, office and retail."
Giamartino added that CBRE anticipates "most of our asset sales" to take place in the fourth quarter, "including a few data center development sites."
CBRE has exposure to at least one nuclear energy project and an entire data center management business which handles work in around 700 to 800 data centers, according to executives' Q2 commentary.
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As of publication, CBRE stock has an average overweight rating with a price target of 165.90, according to FactSet.
The AI stealth real estate stock has a 91 Composite Rating, an 86 Relative Strength Rating and an 83 EPS Rating.
AI Stock Primoris Services
Primoris Services provides maintenance services for power plants and refineries. PRIM stock notched an Aug. 13 high that marked a 52% gain so far this year. Shares advanced nearly 17% on Aug. 5 following the company's Q2 earnings results.
Similar to Willdan, Primoris Services offers a variety of services to data center projects, including early-stage site preparation, as well as design/build services for power generation, utility infrastructure and fiber networks.
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Addressing Primoris Services' offerings for data centers, interim CEO David King told analysts on the Q2 conference call that it does "everything outside the box" for data centers and the AI boom.
Currently, less than 10% of Primoris Services' revenue is "directly tied" to data centers.
But King on Aug. 5 said, "we see significant opportunities on the horizon to increase our exposure." The company was evaluating around $1.7 billion of work related to data centers estimated to be contracted, he said.
The CEO noted that of that $1.7 billion in data center work, Primoris has been short-listed for about $400 million to $500 million.
The opportunity "could last for a decade or longer. There is an enormous amount of upcoming work that fits very well with our capabilities," King added of the AI data center cycle.
Primoris Services projects 2025 earnings growing from 27% to 32% vs. 2024. The stock has a perfect 99 Composite Rating, a strong 95 Relative Strength Rating and a 97 EPS Rating.
Efficiency And Building Maintenance Stocks
Several stocks in the building maintenance and services industry group work in support roles for the AI data center buildout. Among those are EMCOR Group, Ameresco, IES Holdings and MYR Group.
EMCOR stock has advanced 47% to its July peak and is now working to hold support at its 21-day moving average. IES Holdings also peaked in late July with an 85% gain. It is holding support at its 50-day line. MYR Group stock rallied 49% in 2025 and is holding short-term support just below that peak. Meanwhile, Ameresco stock is down around 4% for the year, but is up 166% from an April low and holding very close to its highs.
The 13 stocks in the IBD-tracked Building-Maintenance & Services industry have advanced around 38% on the year. That's good enough to make it the fifth-best industry out of the 197 tracked by IBD.
There is also Stem, which uses AI to manage utility and grid efficiency, that can be viewed as a stealth AI stock. The stock has advanced around 14% this year as the company looks to manage its operating costs. It recently decided to cut its workforce, marking a 35% reduction in personnel costs, as it focuses on AI offerings.
Stem is currently working on rolling out AI programs that it says will allow it to expand its customer base and also provide additional value to existing customers.
On Aug. 7, Stem CEO Arun Narayanan told analysts that as electricity load growth is expected to rise, "new capacity will need to be built and we will be here to support that build out with our industry-leading offerings."
Insatiable Demand For AI Data Centers — And Space — Fuels This Stock
"Revamping our software development and taking advantage of advances in AI is a strategic priority for us and we remain focused on it," Narayanan said.
Building Services Stocks Tout Data Center Potential
Meanwhile, infrastructure contractor Sturgeon Electric in the second quarter awarded MYR Group a $90 million data center project in Colorado. CEO Richard Swartz, in regards to the company's backlog and data centers, cautioned on the July 31 earnings call that "it's going to be lumpy."
"These projects are longer-term projects in a lot of cases when you get into some of the data centers and other types of work, some of the transportation work and those projects, and again, take months to negotiate out," Swartz said.
IES Holdings on Aug. 1 reported that it saw "robust demand" particularly in the data center market. The company designs and installs integrated electrical and technology systems and provides infrastructure products and services.
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Ameresco President of Federal and Utility Infrastructure Nicole Bulgarino told analysts on Aug. 4 that the company has "been working with a variety of players in the data center space."
EMCOR CEO Anthony Guzzi added on the July 31 second-quarter earnings call that its data center business totaled a record $3.8 billion at the end of June.
According to Goldman Sachs analyst Adam Bubes, EMCOR's data center business is growing in the very high double-digits this year. However, Guzzi said at the end of July that both hyperscalers and EMCOR are "managing risk" with data center projects and business.
"The only reason data centers may look more profitable is because we spend a lot of time working with our customers on speed to market, and we spend a lot of time working with our customers on what's the appropriate level of risk each of us should be taking," Guzzi said.
Please follow Kit Norton on X @KitNorton for more coverage.
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