nVent Falls 10% as AI Data Center Power and Cooling Stocks Sell Off
Shares of nVent Electric fell 10.48% to $130.82 as profit-taking and valuation worries hit AI data center power and cooling infrastructure stocks, with Vertiv down 5.80% ahead of its own earnings.
Shares of nVent Electric (NVT) fell 10.48% to $130.82 on Thursday as profit-taking hit AI data center power and cooling infrastructure stocks, according to the market summary supplied. Vertiv (VRT) was down 5.80% ahead of its upcoming earnings report. The selling comes after a weeks-long slide in the group: Trefis reported that nVent had fallen seven straight sessions through Oct. 20, losing 16.5%, while the S&P 500 slipped 1.3%. nVent reports third-quarter results on Friday, Oct. 30, with a call at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Why the group is under pressure
The summary supplied attributes the decline to sector-wide de-risking rather than a company-specific negative: concerns about high valuations, heavy capital spending and the sustainability of the AI data center supply chain have weighed on sentiment over the past week. Quiver Quantitative, covering an earlier 5.9% drop in nVent on Oct. 15, tied that day's selloff to a pullback in AI-related stocks after hotter inflation data raised worries about higher rates and the cost of financing data center expansion.
Vertiv has had its own rough stretch. Trefis reported that Vertiv fell 32.4% between July 22 and Oct. 20, including a 17.3% drop on July 29 after second-quarter sales missed expectations, which management attributed to Americas revenue slipping out of the quarter on late projects and supply chain congestion. Vertiv is expected to report third-quarter results around Oct. 28, and the same report noted that its full-year 2026 sales outlook was raised to about $14 billion at the midpoint.
Valuation going into earnings
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Close on Oct. 20 (Trefis) | $139.78 |
| 52-week high | $184.10 |
| 52-week low | $94.55 |
| Trailing P/E at the Oct. 20 close (Trefis) | 37.8x, vs. 27.2x for S&P 500 industrials |
| Trailing 12-month revenue growth (Trefis) | 46.2%, vs. 7.3% for S&P 500 industrials |
| Trailing 12-month operating margin (Trefis) | 17.1%, vs. 17.6% for S&P 500 industrials |
By our calculation, $130.82 is about 29% below the 52-week high of $184.10 and about 38% above the 52-week low of $94.55. At a trailing P/E of about 36x, as cited in the summary supplied, the stock still carries a premium to the industrial group.
Recent company news
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| Aug. 24 | nVent announced a deal to acquire Maverick Power, a McKinney, Texas, maker of engineered power distribution equipment for data centers, for $1.75 billion, plus up to $550 million in cash tied to 2027 and 2028 performance metrics. Maverick had estimated 2026 revenue of about $700 million. |
| Oct. 1 | nVent completed the Maverick Power acquisition. CEO Beth Wozniak said Maverick "adds a power distribution platform to our portfolio." Maverick has about 900 employees in Texas and Arizona. |
| Oct. 13 | nVent and AMD announced a collaboration on cooling for AMD's Helios rack-scale platform. nVent's DC-powered rear door heat exchanger captures heat left over from direct-to-chip liquid cooling, with a first look at the OCP Global Summit in San Jose. |
| Oct. 30 | Third-quarter results, with a webcast at 9:00 a.m. ET on the investor relations site. |
Sources: nVent investor relations releases on the Maverick Power acquisition (Oct. 1), the AMD Helios collaboration (Oct. 13) and the third-quarter earnings date; Trefis (Oct. 21); Quiver Quantitative (Oct. 15); Electrical Wholesaling (Aug. 24). Thursday's price moves are as given in the market summary supplied. This is informational, not a recommendation to buy or sell.
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