Financial analyst consensus for 2026 Capex across Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta comes in at around $750 billion – $890 billion. Consequently, the AI infrastructure bottlenecks go far beyond GPUs, with financial analysts pointing to a powerful second-order opportunity involving suppliers of servers, racks, cooling systems, power/grid equipment, and optical networking/photonics.

Backlogs of AI orders have been publicly noted by many companies providing core facility hardware (racks, cooling, components) and grid/power engineering, as well as networking infrastructure. A recent write up featured companies like Dell, HPE, Super Micro, and GE Vernova, and others I found include (but are not limited to) Vertiv, Trane, Johnson Controls, Eaton, Caterpillar, Nokia and Corning. 

A quick rundown of companies publicly reporting massive order backlogs:

Dell’s AI-optimized servers helped raise its fiscal 2027 outlook with its AI server forecast expected to increase in fiscal 2027 to about $60 billion. 

HPE reported $1.8 billion of new AI systems orders in Q2 FY2026, taking cumulative AI systems bookings to $16.4 billion. AI systems backlog reached $5.9 billion, while total AI backlog, including Networks for AI, exceeded $6.3 billion.

Super Micro Computer has approximately $39 billion of orders from more than 20 customers for advanced AI servers. By July, the company said total new orders received during fiscal Q4 had exceeded $60 billion – a record for the company.

GE Vernova noted a $176 billion backlog in Q2, with its Electrification business exceeding $5 billion in data-center orders – twice that of 2025. Gas-powered equipment slot reservations reached 116 GW, with the company expecting at least 125 GW under contract by year-end.

Vertiv’s data center thermal management commands a massive $15 billion backlog driven by intense demand for its liquid cooling systems and PDUs.

Trane Technologies & Johnson Controls are both HVAC giants capturing massive backlogs through specialized enterprise equipment, such as high-efficiency chillers and Silent-Aire CDUs. Trane surged 70% from a year ago to more than $12 billion in Q2, and Johnson Controls hit a record $21.0 billion in the Q3, marking a 32% organic increase from the previous year.

Eaton (103% YoY backlog) and Caterpillar ($72 billion Q2-a 92% YoY increase) also reported surges in demand for on-site power generation and substation overhauls.

Nokia, Corning, and others that provide optical fiber are also experiencing immense short-term manufacturing pressure for high-density fiber connectivity inside GPU factories.

With ongoing power and grid constraints, thermal management challenges, and demand for custom server chassis, high-density server racks, and advanced optical networking/photonics, unprecedented backlogs are expected to continue. Investors are increasingly eyeing these second-order opportunities.