In this article, we will discuss 7 Best HVAC Stocks to Buy for AI Server Heat Mitigation.
The next bottleneck in the artificial intelligence boom may not be chips or power; it may be heat. That’s the increasingly urgent thesis behind HVAC and thermal management stocks, a category drawing serious attention from infrastructure-focused funds and institutional investors positioning ahead of what could be one of the most overlooked constraints in the entire AI buildout. Unlike the chipmakers and hyperscalers themselves, this is not a crowded trade that is trading at extreme multiples. It’s a foundational infrastructure play where demand is mechanically guaranteed but only for those who understand just how much cooling next-generation data centers actually require.
The investment case is being driven by physics as much as demand. Modern AI training clusters concentrate power density far beyond what traditional air-cooled data centers were ever designed to handle, forcing operators toward liquid cooling, precision HVAC systems, and advanced thermal management just to keep racks operational. Data from Grand View Research projects the global data center cooling market to grow from approximately $20 billion in 2024 at a CAGR of around 13%–15% through 2030, driven by surging AI server deployment and the rapid shift toward high-density rack architectures. Another analysis highlighted by PR Newswire points to accelerating momentum in liquid cooling and immersion cooling adoption as hyperscalers race to prevent thermal throttling across next-generation GPU clusters.
AI server cooling has necessity and physics, which is a thermal constraint that no amount of capital can simply route around. For funds hunting, asymmetric infrastructure plays tied to an unstoppable computing buildout, HVAC, and thermal management stocks may be one of the most overlooked yet mechanically inevitable opportunities in the market today.
With this context in mind, here are the best HVAC stocks to buy for AI server heat mitigation.
Our Methodology
We used stock screeners to identify the best HVAC stocks with a short percentage of shares outstanding of less than 4%. We limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds. To make the list easier to navigate, we ranked the stocks in descending order of their short percentage of shares outstanding.
“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. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).”
7 Best HVAC Stocks to Buy for AI Server Heat Mitigation
7. SPX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:SPXC)
Short Percentage of Shares Outstanding: 3.88%
On June 21, SPX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:SPXC) announced a planned leadership transition within its Detection & Measurement segment. John Swann has informed the company of his intention to retire in January 2027, and as part of a structured succession plan, Eric Kaled will assume leadership of the segment effective August 31, 2026. The transition reflects the company’s focus on leadership continuity and maintaining operational momentum within one of its key business units.
On May 6, JPMorgan raised its price target on SPX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:SPXC) to $270 from $260 while maintaining an Overweight rating on the shares, reflecting continued confidence in the company’s business outlook and growth prospects.
Founded in 1912 and headquartered in Charlotte, NC, SPX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:SPXC) provides highly engineered infrastructure equipment across HVAC and detection-measurement markets. The company’s SPX Cooling Tech division engineers specialize in cooling towers and adiabatic systems to manage the massive thermal loads of hyperscale data centers.
6. Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR)
Short Percentage of Shares Outstanding: 3.88%
On June 3, Morgan Stanley analyst Christopher Snyder lowered the firm’s price target on Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR) to $80 from $92 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The revised price target reflects the firm’s updated valuation outlook, while it continues to view the company’s shares as fairly valued at current levels.
On May 12, Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR) and Garrett Motion announced a multiyear strategic partnership to develop next-generation oil-free air technologies designed to improve energy efficiency, performance, and reliability across key end markets, including food and beverage and life sciences. The collaboration combines Ingersoll Rand’s expertise in compression technology with Garrett’s oil-free centrifugal compressor modules to accelerate innovation in oil-free solutions. Initial products are expected to be introduced to select Ingersoll Rand customers in 2026, with a broader global commercial rollout planned for 2027.
Founded in 1859 and headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR) is a diversified industrial manufacturer that provides mission-critical flow creation, fluid management, and climate control solutions. It supports AI server heat mitigation through specialized vacuum pumps, condensate pumps, and cooling system valves that dissipate the massive thermal loads generated by modern high-density AI data centers.
While we acknowledge the potential of IR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than IR and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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