HVAC

solidsneeze

the etf is literally HVAC

Own-Wolverine-5361

What other things do AI data centers need? What about HVAC components?

ashleytalkshomes

I think this is why so many people talk differently about risk in their 20s versus their 30s. It's one thing watching a portfolio drop when your biggest surprise expense is a car repair. It's another when a roof, HVAC system, or insurance renewal can suddenly cost thousands. Owning a house made the idea of an emergency fund feel a lot less theoretical to me.

_hiddenscout

Kind of an interesting name, but ATMU is looking interesting to me here. The company basically sold off since the thing was running hot and in the earnings report, they only said they are planning on hitting guidance, but not raising it. Also some slowness in the heavy trucking segment, which the management said was due to the war. At these levels, valuation is starting look decent. [https://finviz.com/stock?t=ATMU&p=d](https://finviz.com/stock?t=ATMU&p=d) PEG is 1.6, P/FCF is at 23, and Foward PE of 14. Also asset light company so the ROIC/ROE is pretty solid. Description of the business: >Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells filtration products under the Fleetguard brand in the United States and internationally. >It offers fuel filters, lube filters, air filters, crankcase ventilation, hydraulic filters and coolants and other chemicals for on-highway commercial vehicles and off-highway agriculture, construction, mining, and power generation vehicles and equipment. >The company also develops filtration technologies, including filtration media, filter element formation, filtration systems integration; and service-related solutions, such as remote digital diagnostic and prognostic platforms, and analytics. They spun off from cummings and recently bought Koch, which does the HVAC filters for data centers, which should be a good growth component of the company. Also some EPA rule changes around emissions is changing next year, so could see a lot more orders coming in early next year. Earnings Presentation: [https://s201.q4cdn.com/431306011/files/doc\_presentations/2026/May/v2/Atmus-First-Quarter-2026-Earnings-Presentation-vFinal\_1.pdf](https://s201.q4cdn.com/431306011/files/doc_presentations/2026/May/v2/Atmus-First-Quarter-2026-Earnings-Presentation-vFinal_1.pdf)

jurwell

Do we know that? Presumably there’s HVAC, computer systems and all sorts of other gubbins making the ISS inhabitable that require some complex cooling requirements.

OneMoreLastChance

I'm know HVAC has doubled in the last 5 years for traditional units. Mini split units are still reasonable.

Icy-Emotion-5289

I used to think I had a high risk tolerance. Then I got a quote for a new HVAC system.

Real-DrUnKbAsTeRd

Somebody's gotta fix the HVAC on Mars

Amazing-External9546

I did exactly what you are proposing. Take a bit of time with the framing as most carports tend to leave you with uneven overlaps on your sheeting. I ended up having to add an extra stud in a couple of locations so I had an overlap for that sheeting. I also kicked my self a bit when I used 2x4s rather than 2x6 framing. The extra 2 inches of insulation does make difference. Also think about your future electrical and HVAC needs in advance. It's much easier to make adjustments. It took me a while, working on weekends but I know have an office/library/costco storage area. I ended up putting in an extra electrical panel in and had it tied to the existing one. That has proven a god send as my electrical needs expanded. I also managed to learn how to do plaster board and how to hide a multitude of sins created by carpenters that must have thought, "It's just a carport" and left me with uneven rafters to deal with. Also, I got lucky with the local building inspectors, be prepared to deal with them. I ended up getting homeowner's building forgiveness but that doesn't always happen.

Sufficient_Habit5091

Thoughts on FIX? Feels like cost to repair HVAC, electrical, plumbing etc. will go up endlessly.

OhDatsStanky

Congratulations!  Now you have a mortgage-free place to live.  You were diligent enough to build a portfolio before, you will certainly do it again.  First order of business, however , is to get an emergency fund established for normal house things that can occur.  New water heater, roof, HVAC.  It’s all good though. You are doing great and are well ahead of most.  

MajesticBread9147

**VICR** Vicor is a company out of Massachusetts that makes very efficient and modular semiconductors used for stepping up and stepping down voltages. It's useful for EVs, HPC particularly GPUs, as well as satellites since it reduces energy loss/heat. Their product is more efficient and reliable than competitors so they can carry a price premium. If you have any wonder what happens when you cheap out on these, Hyundai's ICCUs use Hyundai's own design and they're having lots of problems with them. **TGB**. Canadian mining company that is opening up a mine in Arizona, their new mine uses basically what amounts to fracking but for copper, which uses less water and more importantly significantly less fossil fuels (which are getting expensive if you haven't noticed) than other extraction methods. This mine will have a cost per pound of copper of just over $1USD. Copper is hugely important for the economy as a whole, especially the fastest growing sectors like renewable energy, EVs, HVAC systems, and basically everything that requires electricity. **ERII** Energy Recovery inc is a high margin, high moat company that has a near monopoly on systems that make all kinds of water reclaimation from desalination, industrial and wastewater reclaimation to ferric phosphate extraction from brine for use in LFP batteries. Their motors return energy from the end back to the beginning of reverse osmosis systems and unlike the few competitors in the space are made of aluminum ceramic which do not corrode or need maintenance like stainless steel in the heavily corrosive environments these systems operate in. They are beat down because their business relies on large projects, and the current Iran war is causing issues, but they have a ~90% market share in desalination plants, have expanded into selling to high water use industries like mining and textile work to reclaim water, and are moving into the lithium mining space as well as the industry moves away from evaporation pools. This isn't a speculative company. This is a company that's already been profitable and growing for years with 60% gross margins.

killthecook

Honestly though Aaon RTUs are dogshit We have two at one of my hubs and they are constantly needing repair or hard reset Trane, Liebert, and ICE wall mounts make up the our remaining HVAC units and they run solid

bayruss

I've said to in est in Intel and MU long ago. The next play is MCUs. Microcontroller units. It's not glorious or sexy, but the sheer number need per data center is in the 10,000s to 100,000. They're going to be needed for HVAC in Data centers for the current play and then in 3-4 years when robotics come online a MCU company will be worth 10 trillion+. Robotics need them for motor control meaning at least 1 per joint. With billions of robots needed..... MCUs are the next big play. I already called it. TXN was in Trump's stonk list for a reason. It's just the tinest tip of the iceberg for MCUs.

Pretend-Ad-9504

If you invested $250,000 in a rental and held it for 20 years, the rental would appreciate ~2%-5% annually, if the tenants didn’t destroy the home and if the neighborhood didn’t go to shit. You would most certainly be liable for at least 1 roof ($20,000), 1 HVAC overhaul ($8000), and 1 set of new kitchen appliances ($5000). Odds are, the interior will need to be painted twice, and the floors/carpeting redone at least twice, depending on the floors. This is outside of the unknowns (potential water damage, foundation issues, etc). You will most likely need to find new tenants at least 10 times. You will most likely find yourself in court at least once. After 20 years, you may be able to sell the house for between $500,000 - $750,000. If you invested $250,000 in VTI and held it for 20 years, you would have between $1,100,000 - $1,600,000. And you did literally nothing along the way.

RetroEvolute

Ideally both. However, with current interest rates, assuming you don't already own a rentable 2+ unit property, it's probably better to just throw the money in an index fund. I was lucky enough to get a 2 unit house with a ~3.5% interest loan (and paid 20% down so no PMI) in 2020. One of the units more or less pays the mortgage, and there are of course some random expenses, lawn mowing service for part of the year, etc, but it still brings in profit every month. Less than my VOO typically does, but it's not a 1:1 comparison. 1. Once I own the property fully (loan paid off), I'll have both units worth of income with the same minimal expenses. 2. Rent continues to increase with time, which is a great hedge against inflation. The loan value/rate also doesn't change, so inflation ultimately only makes the payments less imposing. 3. By retirement, I can just upkeep the rental and make enough to live comfortably in my, also paid off by then, house. This makes my other retirement savings more of a safety-net, overflow for spending. Now, of course there are random expenses and difficult tenants, etc. But I live close to my other property, and I vet the tenants myself. So far, I've only had very respectful tenants. I'm patient and I show them a lot of respect so I tend to get it back. The bulk of my hands-on maintenance is stopping by every few months to change HVAC filters. Every now and then I swing by to get a look while I'm running errands, but months can go by without an actual visit. It's really quite easy most of the time.

Cop10-8

Unfortunately that email could easily come with a 30k+ bill (HVAC, roof, foundation, catastrophic plumbing flood, sewer, septic, ect.). Materials and labor are absurdly priced today. I know landlords that had 1-2 years of profit wiped out by bad luck.

SelenaMeyers2024

The nice thing about the ai bubble, is that by directing all the money towards ram chips and HVAC, a ton of cash machines are left for dead. For a while health insurance, Humana and Molina. Then hpq. Those popped and gave me my new unloved misfits, saas fintech cable providers. Pypl adbe chtr are buying back 10 to 20 percent of their float while all printing cash. Intu is free with purchase of a big gulp. I'm not gonna lie, those bets have been sideways for weeks (just got intu). In the mean time I'm happy the companies are killing the floats. I name names bc I welcome the ridicule. In a year I want there to be records of this.

37366034

Most 3-9 months out. The thesis was pretty simple a few months ago. There is like a trillion dollar in CapEx getting this year and next. Bet on absolutely everything that services that build out…HVAC/Cooking, Networking, Optical, and otherwise anything thing remotely related to building a datacenter.

soundsfromoutside

We need to replace our HVAC let’s foooooooo

ihasanemail

Every HVAC dude I know is making bank. Congrats on the career.

Sad-Eagle-634

Man being in HVAC I see rich people houses all the time and you'd be surprised how many of them are just normal looking dudes driving regular cars. The ones flashing money everywhere? Usually the ones who gonna lose it fastest That umbrella insurance tip is solid, had a customer who slipped on ice at his rental property and almost lost everything because he thought regular homeowners was enough. Now he tells everyone about umbrella coverage Only thing I'd add - maybe don't go crazy upgrading your lifestyle right away either. Seen too many lottery winner type stories where people blow through everything in couple years

Sensitive-Radish-292

Brand new HVAC distribution entry via Mingledorff's (completed last week) entering a \*\*$100 billion\*\* market You got it wrong there... the HVAC distribution is the one that focuses on family houses, not the datacenters. Also the entire US HVAC market is roughly **$33.9 billion**. Majority of which are the datacenters, not the family houses. So it's a much smaller market. The only reason why they had a beat was because of M&A which puts them into red flag territory to get their credit rating re-rated. Their sales are declining, while they report that it grew 0.6% or something they also admit that 55bps were because of foreign currency (i.e. it's flat at 0.05%). You're also comparing Japanese real-estate market with the US. There's a big difference between the two, the Japanese don't see real-estate as investment, Americans do. The moment you buy real-estate in Japan it immediately loses value. You're also wrong about the premise that higher mortgage rates will cause a financial crisis... markets are generally fluid, there isn't a supply problem with housing. It's just that high-in-demand areas have a supply issue. But people can still move to the mid-west and live a comfortable life there. Additionally what caused the crisis in the first place was that rates were almost non-existent and everyone got a loan. Suggesting that the US should return to that model is far more dangerous and the FED understands that. This company tanked premarket because their margins keep shrinking and keep shrinking rapidly. The way they battle this is like any other company in the sector... mass layoffs and other cost-cutting measures. I will upvote though, because you've put a lot of effort into this.

TattiFeader

Plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs are the new software engineers. There’s plenty of demand for handy work, people are just brain washed into thinking college degree is the only way to have successful life.

Zealousideal_Owl2388

People will just be doing different stuff. There won't be any more office workers in 20 years, but your plumber and HVAC guy certainly won't be android robots yet, that's probably 50+ years away

SamLeCoyote_Fix_1

FIX now boasts a 26.3% gross margin, while MEP/EPC contractors have historically had low and cyclical margins. The market buys the “AI infrastructure” narrative, but the true quality of the earnings is far less clear. The company makes extensive use of cost-to-cost percentage-of-completion accounting. The more complex hyperscale projects become, the more leeway FIX has over estimated project profitability adjustments, variable considerations, and unapproved change orders. In this type of business, profits can appear long before the actual economic completion of projects. Filings regularly mention “favorable developments on projects nearing completion.” Historically, this is exactly the vocabulary used in contracting before margin normalizations. In parallel, FIX has made a series of acquisitions: Feyen Zylstra, Meisner Electric, and Right Way Plumbing & Mechanical. Much of the recent growth looks more like a mix of acquisitions, HVAC inflation, and data center capex than a structural improvement in the business. And most importantly, FIX doesn't sell AI. They install HVAC, cooling, piping and modular power for hyperscalers...

SamLeCoyote_Fix_1

All buying Puts on $FIX? FIX now boasts a 26.3% gross margin, while MEP/EPC contractors have historically had low and cyclical margins. The market buys the “AI infrastructure” narrative, but the true quality of the earnings is far less clear. The company makes extensive use of cost-to-cost percentage-of-completion accounting. The more complex hyperscale projects become, the more leeway FIX has over estimated project profitability adjustments, variable considerations, and unapproved change orders. In this type of business, profits can appear long before the actual economic completion of projects. Filings regularly mention “favorable developments on projects nearing completion.” Historically, this is exactly the vocabulary used in contracting before margin normalizations. In parallel, FIX has made a series of acquisitions: Feyen Zylstra, Meisner Electric, and Right Way Plumbing & Mechanical. Much of the recent growth looks more like a mix of acquisitions, HVAC inflation, and data center capex than a structural improvement in the business. And most importantly, FIX doesn't sell AI. They install HVAC, cooling, piping and modular power for hyperscalers.

pink_ego_box

Chips, materials and HVAC are imported to the West on sailboats apparently.

EBITDAD_69

I’ve been holding the same one for a while. They have a few applications for the graphene I’m excited for. Initially got in for the battery angle, now the application and EPA approval for HVAC and heat exchangers for 10-20% efficiency gains has me interested.

rair21

If the centers are never built then nearly every chip, semi, cloud, memory, ai, water, HVAC, equipment, utility, and a few others are about to take a 30-50% dice. almost too big to fail. Many of these centers are already under way. We already have data centers all over the country. But AI requires supercenters and those are being added. We still have an increasing electricity demand without data centers, nat gas is going to fire the plants that make up the additional energy until if/when nuclear plants are built in this country again.

Btwells1

I loaded up when I saw the world ran on semi conductors. Cashed a quarter of it in this year on a new SUV, a New HVAC, and braces for a one of my kids. You know, middled aged shit…..

JellyfishFestival

Even the well above middle class They will whittle this all down to the old people who saved enough, wealthy heirs, cops, and HVAC repairmen.

degausser22

As prez of a company that built HVAC units for battery plants and is now building for data centers - it’s hilarious to see all the work just shift 5 years later. This infrastructure buildout is fucking insane.

RJ5R

Our HVAC distributors pricing went up 14% starting last month (April). The report that came out is lagged. Expect these reports to start deteriorating rapidly going into the summer. A tsunami is coming with no good news on the horizon.

RJ5R

It's bc the real numbers are even worse. Our HVAC distributor's wholesale price on equipment went up 14% in just a single year, starting last month. We have had other suppliers who are reissuing quotes due to the fact that price increases for some raw materials have gone up so much that it wipes out their profit on the contract. All of this gets passed on eventually to the end-consumer I get that these numbers are reflecting everything as a whole, but so many sectors are experiencing double digit wholesale price increases and it's trickling throughout the rest of the economy. We are seeing a lag effect but it's coming. A tsunami is coming

RJ5R

Our HVAC distributor sent out a notice back in April with another 14% increase. Prices are spiraling out of control and what's being done about it? They're painting the reflecting pool blue

Soysauceonrice

The 529 isn't just for a traditional college education, it can be used for trade school expenses. So if accountants and lawyers are extinct in 20 years I'm pretty sure we still need HVAC technicians, electricians and plumbers. I have a 2 year old and another on the way. I'm just opening a 529 for the oldest and right now we're planning on over-funding it. If he can't use it for college we're hoping he can use it for SOME form of education. The 529 is transferable so whatever is left, we'll transfer to his sister. I admit we haven't totally thought this out but we'll work to make sure they both start adulthood off on equal footing so there isn't any resentment.

No_Height2939

Checkout AIRJ for a company i think benefits from the rising cooling and water needs long term not just from the el nino. Provides basically a more efficient dehumidifier to put it simply for industrial, data centers, and even residential areas which can use waste heat from the facility to run more efficiently and reduce cooling costs. This water is then used for liquid cooling, drinking, or whatever else you need. Currently have tests planned in texas, CA, and the middle east. Very Speculative pre revenue could go to 0 just as likely but backed by GE and has a partnership with Carrier an HVAC leader so i like it for this trend.

Gallico_Marina

There just isn't enough people to build things for that much. Unless theyr retrain people at the same speed ICE trained MAGA militia, there is not enough electricians, HVAC techs and people in general construction to spend that much. Or maybe the plan is to buy chips and store them in warehouses like they have been doing since 2 years.

Thin_Cat8817

super el nino year coming, get ready for warm weather. HVAC stocks should be printing, CARR, TT, LII

FullCopy

Love how all the analysts talk about all the jobs created by AI. Basically HVAC and also influencers. Not a joke. These are things said on Bloomberg earlier.

Pyrrhic_Pragmatist

Do Carrier and Trane (CARR and TT) not do HVAC for datacenters? I know there's a split between residential and commercial customer segments, and that AI probably uses unique cooling systems. And yet, I could still see pretty big demand for traditional air cooling, in which HVAC is needed just to keep the buildings cool, just as in regular datacenters and bitcoin farms.  I legitimately don't know how much AI will drive business for them, but I already own them. It's not much of a reach to assume they could benefit also

Creative_Gur_4097

Been watching this for months but haven't pulled trigger yet. The robotics hype is real but feels like we're still couple years away from mass adoption. MBLY's automotive stuff is solid though - they've been in the game longer than most people realize. Intel backing definitely helps but their track record with acquisitions is... questionable. Remember when they bought Altera for 16 billion? That worked out great lol. Still, robotics integration in HVAC systems is starting to pop off so maybe there's something here.

Ziegelmarkt

We used to use Marcus, then we started buying SWVXX, but both take to long IMO to move cash to our bank. So now we keep between $10-35,000 in our joint and individual checking accounts at any given time which covers most "emergencies". We've got another $45,000 in available credit and we generally use those because of the cash back, airline miles, hotel points, etc., etc., and then we just pay off with our monthly withdraw from our brokerage account. The plumber, electrician and HVAC guys I use for my properties offer a 5-10% discount for cash to both avoid their own processing fees and get paid under the table. If push really comes to shove we would use the margin account.

RJ5R

If this is an actual liquid emergency fund It should be kept in an easily accessible FDIC insured HYSA If this is just a sink fund to be used on a large purchase (ie downpayment for a house, a car, a large home improvement project, etc) then put it into whatever HYSA or money market savings that gets the highest rate None of this money will keep up with inflation. That's not the point of the emergency fund. It's to be there for financial emergencies. So if you want to maintain the account balance's purchasing power, you will need to forever contribute to it so your contributions + interest will maintain purchasing power. Example - 10 yrs ago you could get a HVAC system swap for a medium size home in my area for under $4,000 . Now it costs $7,500 - $8,000

Already-Price-Tin

That's the margins of the currently operating data centers. I'm bearish on whether those margin calculations will hold up for data centers constructed in the future: * Each new generation of data centers is getting more expensive, around the time that the cost of financing is going up, too. * Each new generation of data centers has a higher and higher percentage of its cost tied up in physical assets with a much shorter useful life: the GPUs/ASICs and memory in the servers. * The current assumptions underlying the depreciation schedules on silicon may not hold (especially if energy prices rise). If GB100 is so much better than H100 or A100, and we expect that trajectory will continue, will 2030's chips be so much better that operating 2025 chips in 2030 won't be economically feasible? * As data center design gets more advanced and requires tighter integration of the different parts of the solutions (power, cooling, networking, compute), the assumptions about the depreciation schedules on the traditionally longer-lasting assets (power, cooling/HVAC) may not hold, either. I'm not super confident all this will definitely come crashing down, or that even if it does slow down it'll happen the way I think. I'm just pointing out that the actual financial structure of a lot of these projects makes them fragile to external disruptions, and that I personally think it's absurd to be confident the other way, that the boom/bust cycles don't exist anymore.

comfortablybum

Servers don't last as long as industrial HVAC units. Also the price they are paying for these data centers is the highest they have ever been and if there is a bubble these servers will be out of date and underwater. They won't be able to rent them for anywhere close to what they paid for them.

itopsguy

I agree - AI is useful. But remember, large infrastructure like buildings, HVAC, generators, etc can be capitalized over decades. While it is a lot of capital upfront, it is not that large of an impact on annual P&Ls. Generally speaking, I believe it is overvalued, but the facilities can be repurposed and IT in general is not going anywhere anytime soon.

thewimsey

Housing is mostly about the cost of the property; HVAC and roof replacement prices don't scale with costs. They do scale with size, so if the $1mm house is a 6500 sqft home...then, yeah, you'll have above average roof and HVAC costs. If it's a condo or a 1300 sqft SFH that's in an expensive area, you won't.

thewimsey

HVAC systems cost $10-$15k. Median roof price is $11k. I mean, you are right that houses come with expenses. But yours are triple the median.

b00c

anything around chips and datacenters is up. look at HVAC e.g. FIX in last 5 years. went from 20 to 2000.

Pyrrhic_Pragmatist

I'm personally doing hardware based stocks, AMD, Broadcom, Nvidia, Lam research. Memory and storage are supply constrained now, but traditionally have been commodity parts of the sector & not particularly unique. But yes I do think power, raw materials, as well as HVAC for cooling the datacenters are all better opportunities than trying to bet on who will actually profit from making those investments. Figure out where Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, etc are spending, and who they are paying and own those things. I've made about $50k year over year in these things, and it's frankly hard to hold assets in anything else these days. I'm trying to diversify but also not buy something that's gonna be dead money for several years.

Diligent-Lettuce-455

Maybe if cruise ships weren't unsanitary. Probably rat poop in the HVAC lol. Otherwise they would get Norovirus and shit themselves the whole vacation and life moves on.

ImmodestPolitician

Sure, but a HVAC system costs about the same anywhere.

Paul_Robert_

Damn, my electricity bill this month is only $ 37.63 I'm on the top floor, corner unit, and have been running the AC every night, I really expected that to be higher. I guess this apartment's cooling HVAC system is way more efficient than my last one's.

ArtisticFrame5790

So last spring someone elsewhere said check out FIX. Just a HVAC type company (industrial) but work on Data centers. It was under $400 last April. Hit $2k today. I missed it. I’ll look at this now

VegasWorldwide

yeah it's kinda crazy to see so many people complain when there's huge needs for plumbers, HVAC, electricians, roofers, mechanics, etc. then there's software and AI. Dont get me started on the medical field needs. The work is there. The money is there. People rather be lazy and complain and the "economy" when I see tons of young people thriving in today's world.

SfiberWonder

The business itself is still pretty solid. Revenue and earnings can fluctuate depending on project timing, but that’s fairly typical for this kind of company. The February drop was mainly tied to their decision to exit the CO2 segment, which was seen as a potential future growth driver. Removing that “optional upside” was taken negatively by the market, hence the sharp sell-off. Also worth noting: since January 2024 there’s a new CEO, David Moon, with a background in industrial refrigeration/HVAC. It’s possible that the CO2 exit is part of a broader refocus on core operations, or even making room for new applications down the line (industrial processes, potentially cooling-related areas). Nothing confirmed yet, but that’s something to watch. And the have the MLD/ZLD system.

SfiberWonder

The business itself is still pretty solid. Revenue and earnings can fluctuate depending on project timing, but that’s fairly typical for this kind of company. The February drop was mainly tied to their decision to exit the CO2 segment, which was seen as a potential future growth driver. Removing that “optional upside” was taken negatively by the market, hence the sharp sell-off. Also worth noting: since January 2024 there’s a new CEO, David Moon, with a background in industrial refrigeration/HVAC. It’s possible that the CO2 exit is part of a broader refocus on core operations, or even making room for new applications down the line (industrial processes, potentially cooling-related areas). Nothing confirmed yet, but that’s something to watch. And the have the MLD/ZLD system.

austINfullEffect

> college educated That was the first mistake. HVAC and plumber charge $200+ an hour.

SfiberWonder

No but they have the MLD and ZLD system. And since 2024 they have a new CEO, David Moon, with a background in industrial refrigeration/HVAC. That could explain the decision to exit the CO2 segment and refocus on core operations.The open question is whether they can build a second growth leg beyond desalination. Industrial or cooling-related applications would make sense given his background, but nothing is confirmed yet. if they stay a pure desalination niche, growth might stay limited. If they expand successfully, that’s where the upside would come from.

SfiberWonder

Since 2024 they have a new CEO, David Moon, with a background in industrial refrigeration/HVAC. That could explain the decision to exit the CO2 segment and refocus on core operations.The open question is whether they can build a second growth leg beyond desalination. Industrial or cooling-related applications would make sense given his background, but nothing is confirmed yet. if they stay a pure desalination niche, growth might stay limited. If they expand successfully, that’s where the upside would come from.

Holiday-Key2885

HVAC etf does include Vertiv... Go check it out.

Exponential-777

Agree with OP. I use Gemini to get fast summaries of complicated topics and to get specific guidance. Such as HVAC repair. It gives solid answers and is very useful for DIY repairs. I don't have to do a google search. So Google isn't getting ad revenue from me using a traditional search. They will put ads in Gemini whenever they need to. They already started talking about it. Do you think Google would spend billions of dollars on Gemini and let it cannibalize their ad revenue? Like a few quarters from now, they announce Gemini reduced ad revenue by 25% and have to issue an apology to shareholders for being stupid?

Low-Cartographer-429

I'm not well versed in CARR, but one reason is there's pent-up demand in the residential HVAC market. People can hold off, but eventually they need to replace their HVAC units. Like I said, they're growing their commercial presence including data centers so that's attractive to me as a "picks and shovels" play re: data centers. Maybe there are better choices. Trane (TT) could be another good pick in this space. Hoping someone more knowledgeable can comment.

Low-Cartographer-429

What about HVAC companies? I bought CARR as part of a "the world is going to shit" portfolio (Global Warming, conflict, etc). Primarily residential but growing their commercial business, including data centers.

RIVNMoonMe

It might not be your roof. Could be a clogged HVAC condensate drain line. Easy fix yourself. 

Double_Suggestion385

Dismissing the jobs as temporary completely misses the scale of what's happening. They aren't just building a few warehouses. The construction boom will be decades long, a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure pipeline. ​But even looking past the builders, the supply chain required to keep these facilities running is massive. AI data centers don't just sit there. They require permanent industrial cooling maintenance, continuous grid modernization, and specialized high-voltage equipment manufacturing. The energy sector is having to drastically expand its workforce just to generate the power these servers consume. ​Then you have the actual facility operators, HVAC technicians, electricians, network engineers, and security, plus the massive downstream supply chain for the hardware, networking gear, and fiber optics. That's before you even touch on job creation from new industries that technology always creates.

Retropixl

The mag-7 has warped people’s perception of what a bubble is. Just because they look like “value” doesn’t mean that they aren’t creating bubble in other industries. Their hyper spending on AI infrastructure is definitely causing a bubble in semis, HVAC, materials, etc. This level of spending isn’t sustainable for those industries.

WickedSensitiveCrew

All those CAR mentions on this sub made me think everyone was talking about Carrier. I was so happy finally some HVAC discussion. Turns out Carrier ticker is CARR. So no HVAC discussions taking place. I bought VRT though based off that thinking glad I did even if I misread the discussion on sub lol.

ManBearPig_1983

Why? What’s not to love about insurance, taxes, general yard and exterior maintenance, HOA fees, insects, termites, rodents, HVAC cleaning, appliance repairs and replacement, etc.?

MajesticBread9147

VICR. Vicor is a company out of Massachusetts that makes very efficient and modular semiconductors used for stepping up and stepping down voltages. It's useful for EVs, HPC particularly GPUs, as well as satellites since it reduces energy loss/heat. Their product is more efficient and reliable than competitors so they can carry a price premium. If you have any wonder what happens when you cheap out on these, Hyundai's ICCUs use Hyundai's own design and they're having lots of problems with them. TGB. Canadian mining company that is opening up a mine in Arizona, their new mine uses basically what amounts to fracking but for copper, which uses less water and more importantly significantly less fossil fuels (which are getting expensive if you haven't noticed) than other extraction methods. This mine will have a cost per pound of copper of just over $1USD. Copper is hugely important for the economy as a whole, especially the fastest growing sectors like renewable energy, EVs, HVAC systems, and basically everything that requires electricity.

ImmodestPolitician

Learning to spend the money you've accumulated is a known problem in the investing world. The habits that allow you to acculate money are hard to turn off. I have more than $1mm and I still think buying a new car don't make sense. I had to spend $15k on a new HVAC system last week and that felt like a lot of money. I've been wanting to buy a new door because my current one is 60+ years old but the $8k it will cost is making me push it off into the future. I also drive a 20 year old 4runner.

Bitter-Data7131

My personal strategy is to follow 52 week high stocks and buy options on ones that are moving or have an earnings report coming up. This can make you a bag-holder if you are not doing proper dd on why certain stocks are moving. Like I have bought the top and paid a heavy price but certain stocks are really out preforming in this market mainly ones associated with data center construction, engineering, HVAC, mechanical, and electric. Even stocks i normally would never play with are moving bc they are an auto parts company shifting to data center suppliers. Anyway best of luck and don't give up we know the casino is rigged but we keep coming back.

Repulsive_Ad9534

$MLI low PE (17) vs Industry standard (45) undervalued. Acquired Bison Metals to offset tariff and supply risks. Acquired Nehring (2024) in 2024 to expand to USANTX electrical applciations for data centers. HVAC and PIPING systems misprice with HVAC customers like $CARR $TT recording 300% backlock AI data center revenue in cooling. The only US vertically integrated manufacturing 700 PSI components becuase of DURA GRAIN and True Center patented manufacturing capabilities. Competitors can't absorb copper price hike. In 2021, Copper rose 2x and $MLI Net Margins grew 300% vs Industry avg 60%. Usually companies with larger margin growth vs Industry standards means they are beating their competitors by a mile. They serve multiple industries also like Military, Medical, Defense, and Aerospace.

caliwillbemine

Just got a heat pump install quote. $26k to pull a furnace and replace it with something someone else made for $3k and attach it to existing ducting + run new electrical to a panel that has plenty of room. The PE HVAC bois are really onto something.

Chrishall86432

Going to piggyback on this comment as I’m also invested in ETN, FIX and MLI. Consider CMI and PH as well. And if you’re getting into VRT do that soon. I’m up over 30% in a month. I worked in plumbing and HVAC with a side stint in data centers before it became a mainstream topic. VRT is a big deal.

TheConstellationGuy

Well I'm giving OP the answer he wants. I think buying MU comes with a large risk at this price that I think simply isn't commensurate with upside probability. I took somewhat of an AI gamble last year with FIX (Comfort Systems USA), also a cyclical HVAC infrastructure company touching data centers. Except, when I bought it at $350, it was trading at 18x trailing earnings and something like 15x forward earnings at peak tariff and deepseek fears. That was an entierly different bet that I strongly believed has an asymmetrical risk profile with a highly discounted upside probability. Where we are now in the AI story, I think that kind of bet is much harder to find, if it still even exists (FIX is now $1680 at 58x trailing PE).

HoneyBadger552

all HVAC workers got a man or lady boner seeing that

EndAlone5773

ZTEK - Zentek Feels like one of those under-the-radar names quietly stacking real catalysts. You’ve got rapid biotech progress with the aptamer platform, nuclear-grade validation on Albany graphite, and ZenGUARD gaining traction as a legit HVAC disruptor. New CEO already pushing partnerships and international interest — this is starting to look like a serious multi-sector story that hasn’t been priced in yet.

EndAlone5773

Zentek Feels like one of those under the radar names quietly stacking real catalysts. You’ve got rapid biotech progress with the aptamer platform, nuclear-grade validation on Albany graphite, and ZenGUARD gaining traction as a legit HVAC disruptor. New CEO already pushing partnerships and international interest. This is starting to look like a serious multi-sector story that hasn’t been priced in yet.

HoneyBadger552

return averages higher w SP500 over real estate. I have 1 rental property in the midwest, with a property manager. I break even with my mortgage w tenants. HVAC took a hit one year so theres $1k right there.  If and only if you want to live in the house after some time..put the $$ in an index fund and leave it alone. So much can and does go wrong with home rentals and upkeep. 

quiltball

Well the big growers already have warehouse space and HVAC setups I guess, just swapout plants for GPU clusters and we're all set!!

Useful-District9613

At 17.6x EBITDA you're paying AI-infrastructure multiples for what's still largely an industrial HVAC roll-up, so waiting to see how it trades post-listing seems smarter than chasing the IPO hype. I’m probably just gonna watch how it trades post-IPO too. Narrative is strong, but they need to execute *really* well to justify that price.

Chrishall86432

This is similar to what we do. We have 4 “buckets”. Cash/swing, Dividend Income, ETF boring stability, and Core/Long Term Growth. It’s working really well for us to have the “why” compartmentalized. As someone who spent 25 years in plumbing/HVAC with a side step into CFM: swap Schneider for VRT if you’re able to. And if it were my portfolio, I would have TSM and ASML rather than NVDA.

xtnh

Thay went in last month. It covers all my HVAC, electricity and PHEV. The savings per year is about 10% of the cost per year at January rates (even with no federal help), and since then heating oil is up a buck and power is up 2 cents a kWh, and gas is up a buck a gallon, so looking good. I sold a house with solar and heat pumps, and they made the house much more desirable due to low utility bills.

Bizness_boi

I see people selling that regulated coolant Freon and R410A all the time. You aren't legally supposed to be able to buy and sell that yourself without an HVAC cert or something lol.

Ok_Drummer6282

You sure you want that homie? A fresh and educated back entering the field?  If AI is taking over something like Whole Genome Sequencing what do you think that means for Mr HVAC whos brazing lol. 

zrizzoz

I feel like this is actually insanely bullish for HVAC companies. But those things are never sexy short term so its gotta be a stupidly longterm play, and therefore probably not fit for this sub. Hear me out though just for fun. Nuclear takes way too long to build. A power plant is like 10 years and $10B at this point. A third of the worlds energy is used by buildings (construction and operation) and a third of that is wasted by inefficiencies. So if we want more power, the quickest way is actually to be more efficient with what buildings we already have. So you can either A) buy more efficient/newer equipment and install it or B) upgrade your building control sequences/strategies/programs. Both of those are projects for HVAC companies. These things have ROIs of like 3 years for any building 15+ years old (google says 80% of the buildings are at least that old) so they sell like butter. And then, were doing all this so we can build more data centers which buy expensive chillers and require tons more hvac work. So we are doing hvac work to create more hvac work. Those companies gotta be growing fast right?

StraitOfHummus

A good set of tools to do everything in my home has been my best investment. If I do the work, I know it was done right. Then when stuff breaks, I know how to fix it. Only thing I hire people to do is bring appliances or things I can't lift, or HVAC. Good luck on your plumbing!

Retaining-Wall

>What if small businesses that started using scrap metals could get a tax break? I like this in particular. Eliminate some of the fuel burn in the process (environmental benefit, too). I mean, it's a net positive keeping recycled critmins and metals in global circulation period, but if you could get a tax receipt of sorts for scrapping *and* selling locally, that would be a good driver. I was chatting with an HVAC tech from Ukraine and he said this whole "throw out the whole board or unit and replace" isn't a thing there (they don't have a choice anyway). They'll be there checking caps and repairing the microelectronics.

Napster-mp3

I’m 100% convinced they are pumping ketamine throughout the white House HVAC based on 🍊tweet patterns

WhoLickedMyDumpling

Solar panels 4x size of earth feeding into a giant HVAC blowing cold air on earth would do it

imlucas191

Yeah, it's kinda wild, right? Feels like everything's either getting built or patched up. Makes me wonder if I should've gone into HVAC instead of trying to make it as a photog, lol.

DonaldBecker

Not at night, when most EV charging occurs. There has been well over a decade of hand-wringing about EV charging 'straining' the grid, when it's far less of a historical change than residental HVAC. In the meantime data centers have almost instantly been introduced with 4x the load, much higher growth, and a usage peak during the working day and early evening.

One-Captain-4114

Been putting extra cash into VTI and chill for the past couple years but wondering if I should diversify more internationally. The HVAC business has been pretty steady so I've got consistent income coming in, just trying to make sure I'm not being too US-heavy in my portfolio Anyone else feel like they're overthinking this stuff sometimes? I keep reading about emerging markets but then I look at the fees and performance and just end up sticking with what I know

Dry-Path9819

Went to trade school for HVAC. Did an internship with a residential company between freshman and sophomore year, when I graduated I was lucky enough to get picked for an industrial boiler company. Recently quit cause I got lucky enough to get into a power plant.

Chrishall86432

Have you tried looking at the chart for either one? Took me 10 seconds to look at both. Invest in plumbing and HVAC and cereal my friend.

OkBowls

…You think Vertiv is in the HVAC ETF?

Diamond-Key197

I don't know if you're being sarcastic, but you need HVAC to cool everything directly or indirectly, that's why chillers are installed on data center roofs. Look at Vertiv stocks.