The Long View: European Infrastructure - The data center opportunity for EPC contractors, and a framework for investors

Research evidence excerpt

The Long View: European Infrastructure - The data center opportunity for EPC contractors, and a framework for investors

peaking. This reframing challenges the market’s implicit assumption of a normalized Nikita Talwar

+44 20 7676 8785 construction cycle and supports a structurally higher earnings outlook.

nikita.talwar@bernsteinsg.com

Value in the ecosystem is concentrating around bottlenecks, not volume exposure.

Specialist Sales We highlight a key shift in industry structure: returns accrue to players controlling scarce

resources (power access, engineering talent, supply chains and execution capability) rather Sara Bellenda

+44 20 7762 1867 than commoditized construction capacity. As projects complexity rises, customers prioritize

sara.bellenda@bernsteinsg.com delivery certainty over cost, driving consolidation toward specialized EPC contractors. This

increases barriers to entry and supports durable competitive advantages.

EPC economics are structurally improving through complexity, scale and customer

behaviour. Historically low-margin, cyclical EPC business models are evolving toward

higher-quality businesses. Data center exposure introduces pricing power (as delays

become costlier for clients), better cash conversion (via milestone payments and stronger

counterparties), and higher returns (through standardization, modularization and project

selectivity). Additionally, the opportunity extends beyond construction into recurring

services, including maintenance, upgrades and optimization, creating a pathway toward

more stable, infrastructure-like earnings. This represents a material deviation from

historical sector economics, with potential for re-rating.

Investment implications: ACS is uniquely positioned via dual EPC and ownership

exposure.