Capital Current on AI, Data Center Buildout
Some interesting thoughts and context on the AI and data center build out from Capital Current:
In Q2 2026, the Bureau of Economic Analysis recorded $752 billion in annualized investment in information-processing equipment and data centers. Residential investment came in at $748 billion. Adam Shapiro, vice president at the San Francisco Fed, posted the chart and called it simply: “The AI investment boom is massive.”
A four-billion-dollar gap. Thin. But the lines crossed. And they’re moving apart.
Data center construction spending hit a record annualized rate of $75.2 billion in July. That is 57% higher than a year ago. Year-to-date starts through June reached $81.5 billion, already topping the full-year 2025 total. Housing, meanwhile, sits 18% below its 2021 peak.
Rystad expects 2026 to go further. Data center investment is on pace to match the entire oil and gas value chain this year. A sector that barely appeared in BEA data five years ago now moves more capital than the industry that powered the twentieth century.
Where is Capital Current going with this?
Because every server rack draws power. A house needs 1.2 kilowatts on average. A high-density AI rack needs 100. The capital goes into chips. The chips need a grid. And the grid takes a decade to build.
That final comment keeps us bullish on the Pro Portfolio’s position in Eaton ($ETN), and it also explains some of the nuclear power deals being inked by some of the hyperscalers and others. With the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF ($NLR) knocking on an oversold condition like it did back in mid-July, it may be time to put it back in the Pro Portfolio’s Bullpen.
Position: TheStreet Pro Portfolio was long ETN
