 
Everyone's Talking About AI Data Centers - Few See What Comes Next Data centers have become the symbol of AI growth. But they're only the visible layer. Beneath them sits the infrastructure that determines whether expansion is possible at all - energy access, capacity, and location. That deeper layer is where a quieter opportunity is taking shape. See what sits underneath the data center boom:
This Month's Bonus Article ServiceNow's Massive Fall: Analysts Eye +70% Gains Amid AI RisksWritten by Leo Miller. Posted: 2/10/2026. 
Article Highlights- Investors have recently crushed shares of software giant ServiceNow, like many names in its industry.
- However, the firm's 2025 results and 2026 guidance did not show many signs of weakness.
- While the company's AI tools are gaining steam, the technology could also pose a structural risk to NOW's long-term growth.
So far, 2026 has been a rough year for software stocks. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS: IGV) is a useful proxy for the industry; as of the Feb. 9 close the fund was down nearly 20% year-to-date. That decline reflects concerns that new artificial intelligence (AI) development tools will make software easier to produce, increasing competitive pressure on incumbents. Yet investors have been selling broadly across the software sector, often without differentiating the true threats facing individual companies. In 2000, I told Barron's that a popular dot-com stock was headed for trouble. It dropped 90%. Now I'm making the opposite call on that same company: buy it now. This stock has become the lifeblood of AI data centers, yet almost no one has caught the story. While the media focuses on AI chip wars, they've missed this company's essential role in building out data centers. Their hardware is so critical that a single building uses enough of it to stretch around the world eight times. If you own Nvidia, you might want to pivot. If you missed Nvidia, this is your second chance at the AI data center buildout happening worldwide. See the under-the-radar play fueling AI data centers These indiscriminate sell-offs can create opportunities to buy high-quality companies at discounted prices. One software behemoth worth examining is ServiceNow. Despite posting strong financial results, ServiceNow's stock had fallen roughly 55% from its all-time high by the second week of February. Let's break down the positives and negatives around ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) and take an updated look at the tech stock. ServiceNow: 2025 and 2026 Numbers Paint Impressive PictureServiceNow delivered a strong 2025 on the financial front. Revenue grew 21%, adjusted operating margin expanded by more than 150 basis points to over 31%, and free cash flow rose 34% with a free cash flow margin of 34.5%—an increase of more than 300 basis points versus 2024. The company's 2026 outlook is also notable. ServiceNow expects subscription revenue growth between 19.5% and 20%, which includes about a 1% contribution from its Moveworks acquisition. That implies core business growth roughly between 18.5% and 20%. While this represents a deceleration from previous years, it remains robust. Management expects operating and free cash flow margins to expand to 32% and 36%, respectively, in part by using AI internally to reduce costs. The annual contract value (ACV) for the Now Assist AI agent doubled in Q4 to $600 million, and the company is targeting more than $1 billion in Now Assist ACV in 2026. Overall, ServiceNow is projecting near-20% growth alongside margin expansion. AI Is a Double-Edged Sword for ServiceNowDespite those positives, there are reasons for caution. The company expects growth to slow even as a rapidly growing AI product—Now Assist—gains traction. That highlights a central debate for ServiceNow and other incumbents: it's not necessarily that new AI tools will directly replace ServiceNow's platform, which is deeply embedded in many enterprises, but that AI could undermine the company's growth model. ServiceNow traditionally grows revenue by customers adding more users or "seats" to their subscriptions. Yet the most direct customer benefit from AI is often doing the same or more work with fewer people. If AI leads customers to reduce headcount or slow headcount growth, ServiceNow's seat-based model could face a structural headwind to revenue growth. The company is shifting toward more consumption-based pricing—charging, for example, when an AI agent completes a task. While this can align pricing with usage, consumption revenue is less predictable and, when tied to AI, introduces variable costs (like inference costs) that can pressure long-term margins. Another factor is sentiment: the steady stream of new AI tool releases continues to worry investors, and that alone has recently been enough to trigger sell-offs across software stocks. Wall Street Sees Huge Upside in NOWWall Street remains highly bullish on ServiceNow. The consensus price target near $193 implies roughly 86% upside from current levels. Even the average of targets updated after the company's latest earnings report—around $182—still implies about 75% upside. The risks to ServiceNow are real, but the recent sell-off appears overly pessimistic, creating a potential long-term buying opportunity. That said, additional AI product releases and continuing investor concerns could keep pressure on the shares until ServiceNow proves the market has overestimated their negative impact.
We are not securities dealers or brokers, investment advisers or financial advisers, and you should not rely on the information herein as investment advice. Any investment should be made only after consulting a professional investment advisor and only after reviewing the financial statements and other pertinent corporate information. Further, readers are advised to read and carefully consider the Risk Factors identified and discussed in the profiled company's SEC and/or other government filings. Investing in securities, particularly microcap securities, is speculative and carries a high degree of risk. | 
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