After An Electrifying Run, Stock Of The Day Trades Near Buy Point. But It Has This Risk.

With electricity demand surging, grid-consulting firm Willdan Group (WLDN) has emerged as a growth story. The IBD Stock Of The Day is near a buy point, even as other data center stocks weaken.

Willdan specializes in technical and advisory services for the transition to clean energy and for maximizing electric infrastructure. After years of minor load growth, electricity demand is growing at the fastest rate in decades. An analysis from Willdan subsidiary E3 sees U.S. electric use rising 1.1% to 2.2% annually through 2035, driven by electric vehicles, heat pumps, manufacturing and, especially, data centers.

Of the 15% of company revenue that comes from commercial customers, most of it is data center related, CEO Michael Bieber said in Willdan’s earnings conference call.

“We are hired by technology hyperscalers to identify the optimal sites for data centers. We then provide clients consulting, engineering and project management to supply the electricity that powers those centers,” Bieber said. After a data center is built, Willdan provides energy optimization inside of it.

The rest of the company’s revenue comes from utilities (41%) and government agencies (44%), with many contracts aimed at energy efficiency. Others are, for example, EV charging stations or clean-energy projects.

Data Center Play Makes Acquisitions

Some of Willdan’s growth comes from acquisitions. In March, the company acquired Alternative Power Generation, a provider of power-engineering services for hyperscalers and other commercial customers. That business has a record backlog, and Willdan expects APG to grow more than 50% next year.

Third-quarter net revenue (contract revenue minus subcontractor services and other costs) climbed 26% to $95 million. Recent acquisitions accounted for 6% of the total revenue growth, Chief Financial Officer Creighton “Kim” Early said in the call. The remaining 20% was organic growth.

Anaheim, Calif.-based Willdan has a perfect IBD Composite Rating of 99, one of the highest in the heavy construction industry group. According to IBD Stock Checkup, Willdan has a three-year EPS growth rate of 68% and three-year sales growth rate of 17%.

Analysts polled by FactSet expect current-quarter earnings of 81 cents a share, an increase of 8%. That would be a small increase after EPS gains of 58%, 173% and 66% in the three most recent quarters.

Fourth-quarter sales are expected to climb 12.2% to $88.9 million. Revenue rose 23.8%, 31.1% and 25.5% in the first three quarters of 2025, per FactSet.

Is Willdan Stock A Buy?

Willdan stock is holding up well while other data center stocks are falling. The GlobalX Data Center & Digital Infrastructure ETF (DTCR) is down 3.4% this week, on track for a second straight down week. Willdan shares are little changed so far this week.

Wildan has a cup base with a 121 buy point. But WLDN stock could have a cup-with-handle base with a 109.62 buy point in a few days. Investors already could use 109.62 as an early entry. The base has good symmetry, and the stock climbed back above its 10-week moving average about four weeks ago.

The pattern, however, is a late-stage base. Historically, breakouts tend to fail more often from late-stage bases. With the stock up 175% year to date, it may be tough for shares to mount another big advance. Yet the stock rallied more than 140% from its previous breakout to new highs, which emerged from another late-stage base. So Willdan could defy the odds again thanks to its growth.

The data center stock has a 21-day average true range (ATR) of 4.41%. The average true range, available on IBD MarketSurge, gauges the characteristic breadth of a stock’s behavior. Stocks with a high ATR tend to make large price moves that can trigger sell rules. Stocks with lower ATRs tend to make more incremental moves.

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