In this article, we look at the 10 Best Stocks to Buy for Global Infrastructure Spending.
Global infrastructure spending is entering a long investment cycle as governments and companies upgrade the physical systems needed for electrification, AI, transport, industrial reshoring, and urban growth. PwC expects annual global infrastructure spending to rise from $4.4 trillion in 2024 to $6.9 trillion by 2050, with cumulative investment reaching $151.1 trillion over the period. Transport and power are expected to account for about half of that spending, while annual investment in data center buildings is projected to more than double to $252 billion by 2027.
The spending case is not limited to new roads, bridges, and airports. It increasingly includes power grids, substations, cooling systems, equipment rental, building materials, engineering services, and digital infrastructure. The International Energy Agency has said grid investment needs to nearly double by 2030 to more than $600 billion per year to meet national climate targets, while McKinsey has framed AI data center development as a $7 trillion infrastructure build-out.
For investors, that puts attention on companies positioned across the infrastructure supply chain, from machinery and aggregates to electrical equipment, engineering contractors, and data center infrastructure providers. These stocks offer exposure to the capital spending behind a more electrified, connected, and capacity-constrained global economy.
Methodology
For this article, we screened infrastructure-related companies with exposure to global capital spending across construction equipment, power grids, building materials, engineering services, equipment rental, steel, and data center infrastructure. We then ranked the selected stocks in descending order of short interest as a percentage of float.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
10. AECOM (NYSE:ACM)
Short Percentage of Float: 4.79%
AECOM (NYSE:ACM) is one of the best stocks to buy for global infrastructure spending. On May 12, the company said it supported the completion and opening of the Fanling Bypass (Eastern Section), the first major transport infrastructure project delivered in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis. The approximately four-kilometer, dual two-lane carriageway links the Fanling North New Development Area to Fanling Highway, with the project expected to ease congestion in Fanling town center, improve regional connectivity, and support a planned population of about 95,100 residents in Fanling North. AECOM said peak-hour travel times are reduced by up to 10 minutes.
The project also strengthens AECOM’s case as a global infrastructure engineering play rather than just a conventional design contractor. The company said the bypass used Hong Kong’s first horizontal bridge rotation to position a 140-meter, 7,000-ton bridge over the East Rail Line overnight, cutting construction time by about 12 months. AECOM also highlighted the world’s first structural use of ultra-high-strength S960 steel in footbridges, as well as 4D BIM, LiDAR, AI-assisted monitoring, prefabrication, robotic welding, and 3D swept-path analysis.
AECOM (NYSE:ACM) is a global infrastructure consulting firm that provides advisory, planning, consulting, architectural, and engineering design, construction, and program management, and environmental services for transportation, buildings, water, energy, and environmental markets.
9. Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC)
Short Percentage of Float: 3.43%
Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) is one of the best stocks to buy for global infrastructure spending. The company’s latest update gives the stock a direct link to public construction activity, since aggregates are core inputs for roads, highways, bridges, commercial projects, and other infrastructure work. On April 29, Vulcan said first-quarter aggregates shipments rose 5% from a year earlier, supported by large projects, continued growth in public construction activity, and more typical weather in some markets. The aggregates segment also posted a 12% increase in gross profit to $400 million, while freight-adjusted selling prices rose 3.5% on a reported basis.
The infrastructure angle also extends into the company’s 2026 outlook. Vulcan reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion, with CEO Ronnie Pruitt citing a healthy backlog supported by large projects and public construction activity. That makes Vulcan a direct materials-side beneficiary of infrastructure spending, particularly where public-sector construction remains resilient even as private demand can move with rates and broader economic cycles.
Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) is the nation’s largest supplier of construction aggregates, primarily crushed stone, sand, and gravel, and is also a major producer of aggregates-based construction materials, including asphalt and ready-mixed concrete.
