Barclays has identified a group of electrical equipment providers it believes stand to benefit from the shifting technical demands of datacenter power delivery, with a focus on higher-voltage architectures and liquid cooling. The bank's analysis ranks five companies it sees as particularly relevant as datacenters evolve toward higher power densities and new cooling approaches.
Below is a company-by-company summary of Barclays' conclusions and the firm-specific considerations it highlights.
GE Vernova (GEV) - Barclays positions GE Vernova as the firm most likely to gain from migration to higher-voltage systems in datacenter IT rooms, including moves to 800VDC and beyond. The note observes that while GEV has limited exposure in white-space equipment today, it has deep expertise in higher-voltage gear and is pushing to gain share within its Electrification segment. Barclays points out that Electrification now contributes over 40% of GEV's EBITDA, up from the mid-20% range several years ago. The bank also notes some downside exposure exists in lower-voltage transformers, but that this represents a very small portion of GEV's overall business mix.
nVent Electric (NVT) - Barclays expects nVent to capture value primarily through its pronounced exposure to liquid cooling. In the bank's view, nVent's share of liquid-cooling revenue is higher than its peers', with liquid cooling projected to represent a mid-teens percentage of total sales for nVent in 2026, versus low single-digit percentages for other companies. Barclays also highlights that nVent has no legacy cooling business to cannibalize its new liquid-cooling offerings, although the firm flags potential downside in some segments of nVent's PDU portfolio.
Forgent Power Solutions (FPS) - Barclays offers a contrarian take on consensus assumptions for FPS. The bank says FPS is actually underweight in low-voltage datacenter products relative to its medium-voltage positioning, citing a low-voltage to medium-voltage equipment sales ratio of 2.2x for FPS compared with a 6.7x ratio across the market. Barclays acknowledges FPS does not yet have a fully articulated 800VDC strategy, but expects the company to deliver organic sales growth materially above other datacenter-linked names over the next two to three years.
Belimo Holding (BEAN) - Barclays views Belimo as well positioned on the liquid-cooling front, noting the company benefits from exposure to semiconductor packaging and AI-related investment themes. The bank includes Belimo among the companies it sees gaining from increased adoption of liquid cooling in datacenter and adjacent applications.
Schneider Electric (SU) - Barclays expects Schneider to leverage architectural change to consolidate and reinforce its market-leading position. The bank points to Schneider's scaling of Motivair, its liquid-cooling acquisition, and the firm's ability to use its broad electrical-systems portfolio to industrialize modular datacenter solutions. Barclays also cautions Schneider will need to address challenges in areas where it has historically been strong, specifically uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and rack PDUs.
Summary of Barclays' thesis
Barclays' analysis centers on two technical themes: the transition to higher-voltage power architectures - including the potential move toward 800VDC in IT rooms - and the broader uptake of liquid cooling as datacenter power intensity grows. Within that framework, the bank highlights a mix of incumbents and more specialized players, calling out both the opportunities and product-level risks that could affect each company.
Key points
- Barclays identifies higher-voltage equipment and liquid cooling as the primary technological drivers shaping winners among electrical-equipment suppliers.
- GE Vernova is singled out for its higher-voltage expertise and growing Electrification contribution to EBITDA, while nVent stands out for its relative liquid-cooling exposure projected to be a mid-teens percentage of sales in 2026.
- Forgent is noted as underweighted in low-voltage offerings relative to medium-voltage exposure and is expected by Barclays to outpace peers in organic datacenter-linked sales over the next two to three years; Schneider is seen as consolidating via acquisitions but must address product-specific challenges.
Risks and uncertainties
- GE Vernova retains a limited exposure to lower-voltage transformers which Barclays identifies as a downside risk, though it is a small part of the company's mix.
- nVent faces potential downside in certain PDU product segments despite its strong liquid-cooling positioning.
- Schneider must manage challenges in UPS and rack PDU businesses even as it scales liquid-cooling capabilities and modular datacenter solutions.
Barclays' note provides a technology-focused lens on which electrical-equipment firms may benefit from evolving datacenter designs. The bank's observations combine product exposure, segment mix dynamics, and potential near-term headwinds to form its ranking of probable beneficiaries.