Been digging into some interesting plays outside the usual tech megacap obsession, and stumbled on something worth talking about.

Everyone's focused on Alphabet and Amazon when it comes to AI data center spending, but here's the thing—those companies need people to actually build and maintain this stuff. Enter Comfort Systems USA. Not exactly a household name, but the stock's up nearly 500% over the past couple years, and there's a legit reason why.

The company does mechanical and electrical work for data centers. HVAC, plumbing, electrical systems—basically all the infrastructure that keeps these massive facilities running. Until robots can handle all this work, you need specialists. And right now, they're printing money.

What caught my attention was their recent earnings breakdown. Data center work went from 33% of revenue to 45% in just one year. Tech and industrial spending overall accounts for 67% of their volume in 2025. That's a massive shift.

But here's where it gets interesting. Their backlog is absolutely exploding. The thing is, management clarified something important on the earnings call—they're not booking work that's being committed today. They're working on projects that were signed one to two and a half years ago. So all those massive spending commitments hyperscalers are making right now? Those haven't even hit the backlog yet. Could mean the growth story is just getting started.

The numbers support this. They're projecting earnings per share to jump 69% from $28.88 in 2025 to $48.92 by 2028. Revenue and cash flow should balloon alongside. At current prices, that's roughly 30x 2028 earnings, which feels pricey on the surface.

But if you're betting on the AI data center spending wave continuing through the next decade, this company's positioned right in the middle of it. Not saying it's a screaming buy at these levels, but it's definitely worth watching if you're looking beyond the obvious hyperscaler plays. The infrastructure that builds tomorrow needs builders too.