If You Own AES Stock, Take a Look at This Instead

• AES is simply a inferior institution that provides vigor solutions for residential customers and hyperscalers.

• While Applied Digital has less gigawatts, it besides produces artificial quality (AI) information centers, which is simply a captious difference.

• Applied Digital strengthened its equilibrium expanse by raising funds that volition beryllium utilized to implicit AI information halfway projects, opening the doors to much lucrative deals successful the future.

• 10 stocks we similar amended than Applied Digital ›

AES Corp. (NYSE: AES) is simply a U.S. inferior institution that serves residential customers successful Ohio and Indiana, with semipermanent plans to grow into fulfilling vigor needs for information centers. The company's 11.1-gigawatt pipeline, which includes 4 gigawatts that are allocated for hyperscaler customers, ensures AES tin service residential customers and tech giants.

For a inferior company, that sounds similar a beardown concern exemplary and a imaginable to put successful the maturation of artificial quality (AI) successful this economy. However, AES isn't the champion mode to put successful AI arsenic it relates to vigor usage. Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) looks similar the amended pick, and the information that its stock terms has astir tripled implicit the past year, portion AES banal is lone up by 14% during the aforesaid clip frame, provides immoderate impervious of that.

Admittedly, AES has a immense multi-gigawatt pipeline, but Applied Digital has gigawatts and AI information centers. The information that Applied Digital owns some of these assets improves its semipermanent outlook successful examination to AES. It besides explains wherefore the companies person antithetic maturation trajectories, contempt some providing energy to tech companies.

For instance, AES delivered 2% year-over-year gross maturation successful Q3 2025, portion Applied Digital boosted its income by 84% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth during the aforesaid stretch. One of these companies is mature, portion the different is entering the aboriginal stages of hypergrowth.

Applied Digital continues to motion lucrative deals with its vigor and AI information centers. For instance, it secured a 15-year declaration with CoreWeave that volition effect successful astir $11 cardinal successful revenue. The woody allocates 400 megawatts to CoreWeave, highlighting the imaginable of this maturation stock. While AES has much megawatts, Applied Digital has the imaginable to gain acold much wealth per megawatt.

Applied Digital besides has a multi-gigawatt pipeline, which volition springiness it much vigor to enactment aggregate deals similar the 15-year CoreWeave contract.

The AI information halfway builder besides cited "active and expanding hyperscaler interest" and "unprecedented levels" of request for precocious infrastructure successful its Q1 FY26 property release. This backdrop gives Applied Digital the flexibility to physique much information centers and put much capital, knowing that beardown purchaser request is compounding.