Vertiv stock jumps 13% after AI data center earnings beat

Vertiv shares jumped nearly 13% in Wednesday trading after the power and cooling specialist reported third quarter net sales up 61% and raised full year 2026 guidance across every key metric, the clearest sign yet that the physical layer of the AI buildout, not just the chips, is what is carrying the cycle. Flex, the manufacturing and infrastructure partner that builds the power, cooling and compute systems for the same data centers, followed within hours by beating second quarter estimates, lifting its full year outlook and seeing its stock gain roughly 6%.

Vertiv reported after market hours on October 28 that third quarter net sales reached $4.313 billion, up $1.637 billion, or 61%, from a year earlier, reflecting 55% organic growth and roughly 6% from acquisitions. Growth was broad-based across regions, with the Americas up 75% on a reported basis, APAC up 50% and EMEA up 23%. Organic orders growth exceeded 100% year over year, a booking number that carries more weight than the revenue line because orders convert into this quarter and the next.

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Margins climbed with the volume. Adjusted operating profit rose 83% to $1.087 billion, and adjusted operating margin expanded 290 basis points to 25.2%. Diluted EPS grew 91% to $1.95, and adjusted diluted EPS grew 78% to $2.21. Operating cash flow was $794 million and adjusted free cash flow was $652 million, up 64% and 50% respectively. The company ended the quarter with $6.2 billion in liquidity and a net cash position, and it still expects capital expenditures near 4% of revenue for the full year as it invests to capture demand.

The guidance is where the market paid attention. Vertiv raised full year 2026 net sales to $14.45 billion to $14.85 billion, a midpoint of $14.65 billion, with organic sales growth of 37% to 39%. Full year adjusted diluted EPS is now expected at $7.10 to $7.20, about 70% above 2025 at the midpoint. Chief Executive Giordano Albertazzi told the earnings call that the company is in the middle of the largest infrastructure buildout and that it is accelerating, compressing product development cycles from years to months and industrializing converged infrastructure at a scale that did not exist before.

Related reading: Vertiv closes $1.45B UtilityInnovation Group acquisition to speed AI data center power.

For the broader picture on the AI buildout, see our AI Markets coverage.

Flex told a complementary story on the same day. The Austin, Texas based company reported fiscal second quarter 2027 results for the period ended September 25, 2026, with net sales up 25% to $8.5 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.18, a record, beating analyst expectations. GAAP net income was $263 million. Its Cloud and Power Infrastructure segment, the piece tied directly to AI data centers, grew revenue 54% to $2.5 billion, while Reliability and Integrated Technology Solutions posted 9% and 22% growth respectively.

Flex also raised its full year outlook. It now expects fiscal 2027 revenue of $34.9 billion to $35.9 billion, a 27% increase at the midpoint, and adjusted EPS of $4.84 to $5.16, up 52% at the midpoint. The company guided Cloud and Power Infrastructure revenue growth of 75% to 85% for the year, and CEO Revathi Advaithi said the future of AI infrastructure goes beyond the chip itself and depends on power, cooling, compute and the ability to deploy and operate infrastructure at scale.

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Put the two reports together and the chain reads cleanly. The hyperscalers are spending on AI, the chip makers are selling into it, and now the suppliers that keep data centers powered, cooled and manufacturable are confirming the spending is real and durable. Vertiv is the bellwether for power and thermal management, the physical constraint that has dominated data center planning for two years. Flex is the manufacturing arm that designs and builds the power and cooling systems that sit between the grid and the chip. When both lift guidance on the same day, it is evidence that the buildout is reaching the deployment phase, and that investors are pricing the infrastructure layer as a growth story of its own rather than a marginal beneficiary of the chip trade.

The market priced the documents higher than the prints. Vertiv shares were up 12.7% in Wednesday trading near $239, and Flex was up roughly 6%. For Vertiv the move came even though the numbers were already strong, which suggests the re-rating is about duration, that investors trust the order book and the raised guidance more than they trust a single beat. For Flex the gain marks relief that margins and growth held as it shifts toward higher-value data center products.

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The risks sit on the same page as the returns. Both companies are selling into a capacity-constrained environment where customer concentration is high and where hyperscaler capex decisions can reverse the trend within a single reporting cycle. Vertiv's own guidance, like most, is non-GAAP and cannot be reconciled to GAAP without unreasonable effort for items the company lists in its release. Data center demand is cyclical, and the same order visibility that looks like a tailwind today can turn into an inventory problem if the largest customers pause spending.

The next datable read on the cycle stays with the quarterly reports and monthly shipments from the chip and equipment names, with hyperscaler capex commentary as the demand backstop. Today's pair of reports from Vertiv and Flex turns the spotlight on the power, cooling and manufacturing layer, the part of the AI trade that has to deliver on the ground, and both companies just told investors the delivery is accelerating.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.