Los próximos ganadores europeos de la segunda ola de la IA

The second wave of artificial intelligence (AI) investment has reawakened the rally in European stocks tied to the AI boom, according to analysts at UBS. Despite a cautious approach, the investment bank identifies nine European companies that could be the biggest beneficiaries in the upcoming rally. The market has tempered fears raised by leading AI firms to slow their development pace for safety reasons.

While AI-related technology companies and infrastructure providers have regained their bullish track in recent years, investors are advised to exercise caution regarding the sector's evolution.

UBS analysts maintain optimism about the AI rally, noting that the initial phase was led by hyper-scalers. As competition for data centers intensifies, investors have turned to companies providing the infrastructure: electrical equipment, cabling, and cooling systems. Today, many of the winners from the first phase are facing their own capacity limitations and are making significant investments to expand production and generate new beneficiaries further down the supply chain.

To better pinpoint these beneficiaries, UBS divides the AI infrastructure ecosystem into three levels.

Level 1 includes companies that sell directly to data center construction. Level 2 comprises suppliers providing equipment and materials to Level 1 companies as they expand capacity. Finally, Level 3 consists of specialized component manufacturers that supply these equipment manufacturers. UBS highlights that this is not a story of good levels versus bad ones, but rather a nuanced story about where leadership in revenue growth will shift.

According to the Swiss bank, the leadership currently sits further down the capital expenditure (capex) chain.

To capitalize on the second wave of AI investment and benefit from the expansion of industrial capacity, UBS singles out nine European companies as its favorites. Most of the nine stocks previously benefited from the first AI investment wave, with the exception of French Air Liquide, which showed a slight negative balance over the past year (-6%).

Other than Air Liquide, the remaining eight companies have displayed a bullish trend in recent years. Siemens and Schneider Electric have experienced over 20% interannual revaluation, while Anglo American has surpassed 60% rally, Comet Holding 70%, and ASML, Inficon, and VAT Group have each gained over 80%.