Vertiv Crushed Earnings. The Stock Is on a Tear.

Vertiv CEO Giordano Albertazzi (third from left) said the company’s second-quarter earnings were proof of its ‘strong market position.’ (NYSE)

Vertiv Holdings stock got a lift on Wednesday after the data center infrastructure company posted strong second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance.

Adjusted earnings of 95 cents a share beat the consensus estimate of 83 cents among analysts polled by FactSet. Net sales surged 35% to $2.64 billion in the quarter, above the $2.35 billion Wall Street had anticipated.

The second-quarter print “demonstrates the strength of our market position and our ability to execute at scale,” CEO Giordano Albertazzi said in a statement.

Vertiv boosted its full-year outlook, citing “robust momentum with sequential pipeline growth and substantial increases in AI-related activity” within the data center market.

The company guided for organic sales growth of 24%, up from 18%, and adjusted earnings of $3.80 a share, up from $3.55. Management said Vertiv remains on track to meet its long-term adjusted operating margin target of 25% by 2029.

Shares rose 1.2% to $144.45 on Wednesday. The benchmark S&P 500 index was up 0.2%, while peers Eaton and U.S.-listed shares of Schneider Electric were down slightly.

Barron’s recommended buying Vertiv on Aug. 28, 2024, arguing the company’s data center cooling systems would see steady demand amid the artificial-intelligence boom. The stock has surged 80% since then, beating the S&P 500 by nearly 66 percentage points over that time period.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com