"Searching the Rubble for 7 Industrial Stocks Worth Investing In"
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Mar 26 2026
0mins
Source: Barron's
- Industrial Stocks Performance: Industrial stocks, previously seen as a rising star, have recently struggled due to various economic pressures.
- Impact of Oil Prices: Soaring oil prices have contributed significantly to the downturn in industrial stocks.
- Inflation Concerns: Fears of inflation are adding to the challenges faced by the industrial sector.
- Market Sentiment: A general malaise in the markets, exacerbated by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, is affecting investor confidence.
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Analyst Views on VRT
Wall Street analysts forecast VRT stock price to fall
17 Analyst Rating
15 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 311.420
Low
195.00
Averages
206.07
High
230.00
Current: 311.420
Low
195.00
Averages
206.07
High
230.00
About VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co. provides mission-critical digital infrastructure technologies and lifecycle services primarily for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments. The Company operates in three business segments: the Americas; Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Company's offerings include alternate current (AC) and direct current (DC) power management, thermal management, low/medium voltage switchgear, busbar, air cooled and liquid cooled thermal management products, integrated modular solutions, racks, single phase UPS, rack power distribution, rack thermal systems, configurable integrated solutions, energy storage solutions, hardware, software for managing IT equipment, management systems for monitoring and controlling digital infrastructure, and services. It also provides preventative maintenance, acceptance testing, engineering and consulting, remote monitoring, training, spare parts, specialized fluid management, and others.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Surge in Power Infrastructure Demand: GE Vernova and nVent Electric have raised their 2026 earnings guidance amid booming AI application growth, indicating strong market demand that is expected to significantly enhance company performance.
- GE Vernova Order Backlog: The company currently boasts a $76 billion backlog, a substantial increase from $38 billion in sales for 2025, highlighting its rapidly strengthening market position in the AI data center sector.
- nVent Electric Sales Outlook Raised: Management has increased its 2026 organic sales growth forecast from 10%-13% to 21%-23%, reflecting robust performance in the next-generation data center market, particularly in liquid cooling solutions developed in collaboration with Nvidia.
- Positive Market Reaction: Despite trading at 38 and 37 times 2026 earnings estimates, the market has reacted positively to the potential earnings upgrades due to accelerating AI investments, demonstrating strong investor confidence in power solutions.
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- Surging Power Demand: The rapid growth of AI applications has significantly increased the demand for power from data centers, leading GE Vernova to outperform the former GE Aerospace business, briefly surpassing its market cap.
- Significant Order Growth: GE Vernova's equipment orders rose 106% year-over-year in Q1 2026, resulting in a backlog of $76 billion, far exceeding the $38 billion in sales for 2025, indicating strong market demand and long-term value potential.
- Optimistic Market Outlook: nVent Electric is identified by analysts as a great investment for AI data centers, with its 2026 organic sales growth outlook raised from 10%-13% to 21%-23%, reflecting robust demand for the new 800-volt direct current solutions.
- Earnings Expectations Raised: Despite high valuations for nVent Electric and GE Vernova, both companies raised their 2026 earnings guidance in their latest earnings calls, indicating market optimism regarding their future performance amid accelerating AI investments.
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- Diverse Stock Picks: UBS's list also includes Spotify, Boston Scientific, Target, and Coca-Cola, reflecting confidence in a diversified investment strategy aimed at capitalizing on opportunities arising from market recovery.
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- Manufacturing Expansion: Vertiv has opened its first manufacturing facility in Johor, Malaysia, aimed at meeting the growing demand for AI and high-density computing infrastructure across Asia, with full operations expected by 2027.
- Market Demand Response: The new facility will focus on producing power and cooling systems essential for data centers, supporting clients in Southeast Asia, North Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, thereby enhancing the company's competitiveness in a rapidly growing market.
- Strategic Investment Intent: CEO Giordano Albertazzi stated that expanding the manufacturing footprint aims to enhance the company's capabilities in quality, speed, scale, and resilience, reflecting a strong commitment to the Asia-Pacific market.
- Digital Infrastructure Growth: With Asia being one of the fastest-growing regions for AI and digital infrastructure investment, Vertiv's initiative is poised to solidify its market position in this sector and drive future business growth.
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- Enhanced Regional Manufacturing: Vertiv's new manufacturing facility in Johor, Malaysia, aims to support the growing demand for AI and high-density computing infrastructure across Asia, thereby enhancing the company's regional manufacturing, engineering, and logistics capabilities.
- Strategic Location Advantage: The facility is strategically located in one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing industrial markets, improving Vertiv's regional connectivity to key technology and customer hubs, which enhances customer responsiveness and service quality.
- Comprehensive Manufacturing Support: The new facility supports end-to-end manufacturing, assembly, and full-scale witness testing for advanced thermal and power infrastructure, helping customers reduce deployment risks and accelerate delivery times to meet enterprise, cloud, and colocation needs.
- Long-Term Growth Potential: CEO Giordano Albertazzi stated that as compute requirements evolve, the facility will enable customers to deploy critical digital infrastructure more efficiently, supporting the company's long-term growth strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.
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- Enhanced Regional Manufacturing: Vertiv's new manufacturing facility in Johor, Malaysia, is set to support the growing demand for AI and high-density computing infrastructure, expected to create hundreds of skilled jobs in the region, thereby strengthening the company's competitive position.
- Supply Chain Resilience: The establishment of the new facility not only enhances Vertiv's manufacturing, engineering, and logistics capabilities in Southeast Asia but also optimizes the company's responsiveness through strong regional connectivity to key technology and customer hubs.
- Efficient Deployment Solutions: The facility supports end-to-end manufacturing of advanced thermal and power infrastructure, enabling faster deployment times for customers in enterprise, cloud, and colocation environments, with potential reductions in deployment time by up to 85% compared to traditional methods.
- Sustained Growth Strategy: CEO Giordano Albertazzi emphasized that this expansion represents a significant step in the company's continuous capacity planning and deployment strategy, aimed at meeting the evolving demands of AI infrastructure and ensuring Vertiv's leadership in the rapidly growing digital infrastructure market.
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