The 9 stocks cashing in on AI's power bill

Which stocks are really powering the artificial intelligence boom? Live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, the Ticker Take team offers an off-script answer: nine names, and the famous chip giant is not among them. Host Jon Erlichman and his guest, Cohen and Steers infrastructure portfolio manager Tyler Rosenlicht, move the spotlight from silicon to electricity. According to Gartner, data center power use will grow 26 percent in 2026, and AI servers will overtake conventional hardware by 2027.

The guest frames the big picture in one line: the era of abundance is closing and the era of scarcity is opening. The digital world grew for a decade on the assumption of limitless resources; over the next decade the limits of the physical world will set prices. This is not an energy transition story but an energy addition story, with gas, nuclear, solar and the grid expanding at the same time. According to the IEA, data center electricity use surged in 2025, and tightening bottlenecks are accelerating the scramble for solutions.

The method is called follow the bottleneck . Demand is strong, supply is constrained, and the imbalance will persist for years, which is where durable returns hide. The guest runs every portfolio choice through that filter, favoring points where demand endures, supply cannot be added quickly, and pricing power stays with the producer. The lens gathers all nine stocks around a single idea and hands investors a compass rather than a shopping list.

From gas to socket: pipelines and grids

First on the list is natural gas infrastructure company Williams . It operates a critical gas pipeline network across America, and a business once defined by moving molecules is evolving into generating power for data centers. Most of the Street sees double-digit upside in the shares. According to Williams, data centers are opening new growth avenues for the company, with pipeline demand strengthening into 2026.

Two regulated utilities stand out: Black Hills and Entergy. Black Hills is presented as a grid that data centers actively want to join, with solid contract structures and regulatory relationships, and every analyst covering it rates it a buy. Entergy sits in the fast-growing American Southeast, feeding on data center demand plus a wave of re-industrialization , with about three-quarters of the Street positive and no sell ratings. According to FactSet, Entergy has entered a new era of data center driven load growth, with major cloud tenants appearing onstage at its investor day.

From mine to panel: copper, gas and sun

Direct copper exposure comes through Freeport-McMoRan . Data centers, electrification and grid spending lift copper demand, while bringing a new mine into the system takes seven to ten years. Demand accelerates, supply does not, and that picture pushes copper prices higher while rewarding producers that convert prices into cash flow. According to Kpler, AI data centers are tightening copper supply and producing a picture-perfect supply squeeze .

The fifth name is the most speculative pick on the list: Australia-based Tamboran Resources . The company is drilling new wells in the northern Beetaloo basin to prove up what sits underground, and success could make Australia a critical supplier of global gas. Export capacity and pipeline links are ready; the only question is the drilling timetable. According to Tamboran, the Shenandoah South pilot project has reached a final investment decision , with first gas sales already flowing.

Two builders carry the construction theme: MasTec and Solvenergy. MasTec is an engineering force building gas pipelines and electrical infrastructure, unanimously rated a buy, whose real edge is a pool of scarce labor . Solvenergy develops and maintains utility-scale solar plants , and as projects grow bigger, its place among the few crews that can deliver keeps widening margins. According to the MasTec results published via Businesswire, the company posted strong second-quarter 2026 numbers and raised its full-year guidance. According to the Solvenergy services page, the company supports solar projects above 600 megawatts and keeps adding new installations across Texas.

Critical minerals and the nuclear finale

The eighth name is an under-the-radar value: Perpetua Resources . Its American Stibnite site holds gold alongside antimony and tungsten, metals prized by the defense industry. As supply chains shift from just-in-time arrangements toward securing domestic sources, being a home-grown supplier of critical minerals carries serious pricing power. According to the PerpetuaResources project file, the Stibnite site contains antimony and tungsten next to gold, and the US Army has announced a domestic antimony processing step at the facility.

The finale belongs to uranium leader Cameco , where every thread comes together: demand rising, supply lagging, and a need for clean power that never sleeps. Nuclear energy runs as baseload , with low variable cost and a direct answer to the data center chief executive losing sleep over outages. The company mines uranium, enriches it, and owns the key subsidiary that builds and maintains plants. According to the NuclearNewsNetwork compilation, technology giants keep signing nuclear purchase agreements for data centers, and uranium shares are warming up with the wave.