AI Centurions stocks cross $100 billion on data center boom
Fortune identified six companies whose AI-linked growth pushed market values past $100 billion, led by GE Vernova’s surge.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
The six AI Centurions stocks identified by Fortune show how the AI buildout has lifted companies outside the usual megacap technology group. Fortune said GE Vernova, Vertiv, Seagate Technology, Western Digital, Sandisk and AppLovin each topped $100 billion in market value after riding demand tied to AI infrastructure or AI-driven computing.
Fortune’s screen looked back to mid-July 2023, or to a later public-market debut for companies that were spun off more recently. The group had to clear a $100 billion valuation and post annualized stock gains of at least 100%, according to Fortune.
The six companies’ combined market value rose from about $90 billion to nearly $1 trillion by the market close on July 21, Fortune reported. The publication said that increase represented roughly 3.5% of the rise in the S&P 500’s market capitalization since mid-July 2023.
Which companies are the AI Centurions?
Fortune used the label “AI Centurions” for six companies that crossed $100 billion in value while producing annualized stock gains above 100%. The name refers to “centum,” the Latin root for 100, according to Fortune.
- GE Vernova: Fortune said its valuation rose from $39 billion after its April 2024 spinoff from GE to $288 billion on July 21.
- Sandisk: Fortune reported an increase from $8 billion after its February 2025 separation from Western Digital to $235 billion.
- Seagate Technology: Fortune said its valuation climbed from $14 billion to $181 billion.
- Western Digital: Fortune reported a move from $10 billion to $168 billion.
- AppLovin: Fortune said its valuation rose from $10 billion to $143 billion.
- Vertiv: Fortune reported growth from $10 billion to $114 billion.
Five of the six sell equipment or technology linked to data centers, according to Fortune. Vertiv supplies cooling systems, Seagate, Western Digital and Sandisk provide storage, and GE Vernova sells power equipment including natural gas turbines. AppLovin is the exception: Fortune said its ad-technology platform benefits from AI-enhanced computing capacity rather than selling data center hardware.
Why AI data centers changed the story
AI data centers need more electricity, more cooling and more storage than older computing facilities, Fortune reported. Hyperscalers are large cloud and internet companies, such as Amazon and Alphabet, that build or rent enormous computing capacity.
Vertiv’s growth came from liquid-cooling systems built for dense racks of AI chips, Fortune said. Seagate and Western Digital benefited from hard-drive demand and stronger pricing, while Sandisk gained from faster solid-state storage used for high-speed data access.
GE Vernova’s case centers on power. Fortune reported that hyperscalers and data center operators are using GE Vernova turbines to supply electricity on site, and that about 10% of the company’s $59 billion in orders last year came from data centers. For 2026, GE Vernova expects AI-related demand to account for one-fourth of orders on a larger total, according to Fortune.
AppLovin’s rise is tied to Axon, an AI system Fortune described as analyzing large volumes of consumer data to improve mobile advertising. Fortune reported that AppLovin lifted revenue 70% to $5.5 billion last year and profits 111% to $3.3 billion.
Fortune also cautioned that the group’s gains depend heavily on continued AI infrastructure spending. The publication said that spending rose from $35 billion in 2023 to a $650 billion run rate this year and is expected to reach $1 trillion to $1.1 trillion in 2027; any slowdown could pressure shares because investors are already pricing in strong profit growth.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.