2 Superior AI Infrastructure Stocks to Buy and Hold for 10 Years

2 Superior AI Infrastructure Stocks to Buy and Hold for 10 Years

Micah Zimmerman, The Motley Fool

Sun, September 20, 2026 at 11:57 PM GMT+3 4 min read

Investors who want exposure to artificial intelligence without betting on a single chip or any of the popular ones should look hard at the infrastructure layer. Two names that still fly somewhat under the radar but are building critical picks and shovels for AI over the next decade are Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) and Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT). Both are leaning into trends that feel structural rather than cyclical, which is what matters for a 10‑year hold.

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1. Arista Networks

Arista Networks has become a core supplier of modern cloud networks and is now leaning hard into serving as the backbone for large AI systems. Earlier this year, it rolled out the 7060XE7 Series, a family of switches built specifically for rack‑scale AI fabrics, in which the network is treated as part of an integrated AI system rather than a bolt‑on tier. The idea is simple: As AI workloads scale from thousands to hundreds of thousands of accelerators, the wires between those chips start to matter just as much as the chips themselves. In other words, Arista wants to be the nervous system that keeps giant clusters of AI hardware talking to each other quickly and reliably for years to come.

Arista is also reshaping how data moves. It helped launch XPO, a liquid‑cooled optics module that can deliver 12.8 terabits of bandwidth in a single rack unit, and it is betting on linear pluggable optics to cut interconnect power usage compared with traditional optical modules. In other words, Arista is trying to squeeze more useful work out of every cable and switch port so customers can run huge AI jobs without wasting capacity or getting tripped up by network bottlenecks.

For a 10‑year investor, the appeal is that Arista is not just chasing one AI buzzword or one product cycle. It is investing in data center switching, AI fabrics, networking, and routing while keeping everything under a single system, so customers can treat the network as one coherent platform instead of a patchwork of boxes. That kind of consistency builds stickiness, especially for large cloud players that hate complexity.

2. Vertiv Holdings

Vertiv focuses on keeping AI hardware powered and cool so it can run nonstop. It builds the core gear for data centers: power systems, cooling equipment, racks, and control software. In its 2026 Frontiers report, Vertiv argued that rising AI workloads are forcing data centers to get denser and bigger, which means they will need higher‑voltage power, more liquid cooling, and, in many cases, their own on‑site energy over the next decade.

In other words, Vertiv is betting that electricity and cooling will be just as important to AI as chips are and wants to be the company that solves those problems.

Vertiv is putting real money behind that view. At its Tognana campus in Italy, it is expanding manufacturing and testing to double chiller output by the end of 2026 and to open a large lab in 2027 where customers can stress-test cooling systems under heavy, real‑world AI loads. It is launching AI‑focused cooling products and modular liquid‑cooling pods, and it partnered with Generate Capital to bundle power, cooling, and financing for operators in markets where grid capacity is tight.

In other words, Vertiv is trying to make it easy for data center operators to buy "AI‑ready" power and cooling packages, test them up front, and plug them in quickly when they are ready to scale.

Long‑term takeaways for these two

AI investments and trades are no longer just about chasing the chip stocks. Good investments are about networks that can move enormous amounts of data reliably and physical systems that can power and cool dense racks without breaking down. Arista Networks and Vertiv Holdings are becoming essential in those roles.

For investors willing to think in 10‑year terms, owning both looks like a sensible way to back the build‑out of AI data centers without trying to guess which specific model or chip will win the next news cycle.

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Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Arista Networks and Vertiv. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

2 Superior AI Infrastructure Stocks to Buy and Hold for 10 Years was originally published by The Motley Fool