McKinsey Sees $7 Trillion Data-Center Buildout by 2030, Raising the Stakes for Power Gear

McKinsey projects global data-center investment could reach $7 trillion through 2030, a scale that shifts attention from the chips inside AI systems to the equipment that gets electricity to them and removes their heat. Recent results from Schneider Electric, Vertiv and Eaton show strong demand across power distribution, cooling and electrical equipment.

S&P Global projects capital expenditures by Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Oracle and SpaceX will exceed $1.3 trillion by 2027. Schneider Electric expects installed global data-center capacity to reach about 200 gigawatts by 2030, up from roughly 100 gigawatts today.

The spending bottleneck is electrical capacity

More facilities alone do not explain the supplier opportunity. AI systems are also pushing more power into each rack, the cabinet that holds servers and networking equipment. Schneider’s Steve Carlini pointed to Nvidia’s infrastructure roadmap moving rack power from roughly 227 kilowatts toward 400 kilowatts, and said the industry will need 800-volt high-voltage DC distribution at the Rubin Ultra stage.

That raises the value of equipment that sits between a power source and computing hardware: medium-voltage switchgear, power distribution and cooling systems. It also makes electricity availability a binding condition on new capacity. NEMA projects data centers will account for 38% of net growth in U.S. electricity consumption through 2037.

23%Schneider Electric North America sales growth

Schneider Electric’s North American sales rose 23% in the second quarter ending June 30, 2026, contributing to record global revenue.

41%Eaton Electrical Americas orders growth

Eaton reported Electrical Americas orders up 41%, while its total electrical backlog rose 43%.

31%Vertiv full-year net-sales growth outlook

Vertiv raised its full-year 2026 net-sales growth outlook to 31%; operating profit rose 44% and adjusted operating profit rose 51% in the reported quarter.

Cooling becomes part of the power problem

Denser racks turn cooling from a supporting system into a capacity requirement. Schneider says it has deployed more than four gigawatts of liquid-cooling capacity. Carlini said the pace will rise as Blackwell Ultra and Vera Rubin systems are liquid-cooled, tying the thermal buildout directly to newer AI infrastructure generations.

The infrastructure chain extends beyond equipment makers

• Schneider supplies power distribution, switchgear and cooling infrastructure for increasingly dense AI computing capacity.
• Insight Enterprises reported consolidated net earnings up 65%, while Connection reported net income up 33.8%, indicating that the reseller channel is also participating in the buildout.
• Carlini said large global internet companies are backing demand with purchase orders, not only long-range forecasts.