Nvidia’s $81.6bn Quarter: 4 ASX Stocks Riding the AI Infrastructure Boom

ASX Stocks Riding the AI Infrastructure Boom

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the company that makes the powerful computer chips behind almost every AI tool in the world. This week, it reported its biggest quarter ever, with US$81.6 billion in sales, up 85% from a year ago. Most of that money came from selling chips to giant technology firms building AI systems.

For Australian investors, the message is clear. The world’s biggest tech companies are still pouring money into AI, and that spending flows through the whole supply chain. Australia has no Nvidia of its own, so the smarter way to get exposure is to back the companies that build the “roads and buildings” of AI: the data centres, the power supply, and the software. Here are four ASX names doing exactly that.

What are the Best ASX Stocks to invest in right now?

The ASX Has No Chip Giant, So Look Lower Down the Chain

NextDC (ASX:NXT) is the most direct play. It builds and runs large data centres, the warehouse-sized buildings full of computers that AI needs to run. Customer demand has been strong, and the company has signed an agreement with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, to develop a major AI campus in Sydney. The downside is cost. Building data centres is hugely expensive, so even though the business is growing fast, reported profits stay low while it keeps spending.

Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) started out as a builder of warehouses. Today, data centres make up almost three-quarters of the projects it has underway. It also controls a lot of well-located land with access to power, which is becoming the hardest thing to find in this industry. In our view, that gives Goodman a real edge, although the shares still look expensive and have drifted lower over the past year.

Macquarie Technology Group (ASX:MAQ) runs data centres in Sydney and Canberra that are trusted to hold sensitive government information. It pairs those buildings with cloud and cyber-security services. It is smaller and grows more slowly than NextDC, but its focus on government work is a steady, hard-to-copy niche.

TechnologyOne (ASX:TNE) is the software pick. It sells business software to councils, universities and government departments, and it has built AI features into its products. Its latest results showed another record half-year profit. For this company, AI is helping it sell more, not threatening its business.

What to Watch Before Buying

The main risk is price. Several of these stocks have already climbed a long way, so plenty of good news is built in. Tellingly, even Nvidia’s record result barely moved its own share price, a sign the market is getting harder to impress. Power shortages could also slow down how quickly new data centres get built.

For patient investors who can handle the ups and downs, the long-term demand for AI infrastructure looks genuine. More cautious investors may prefer to wait for a dip before stepping in.