The week
This was the week the thesis tilted decisively toward power. Of the 17 companies added between October 18 and October 24, nine sit in the power and grid pillar, and the 27 alerts logged in the same window were dominated by one question: who can actually deliver energized megawatts, and who is only announcing them. Demand evidence got stronger again, with saying AWS capacity is sold out for 2026 and largely sold out for 2027. The financing evidence got weaker at the same time, led by reporting a quarter in which capital spending exceeded operating cash flow. Both facts matter, and this letter takes them in turn.
Power took over the watchlist
The additions read like a map of the grid supply chain. ABB enters after third-quarter orders rose 40% to $12.06 billion, with data-center orders growing at triple digits and a $495 million low-voltage joint venture with Mitsubishi. Nexans enters on the strength of its cable franchise: a roughly three-year build lead time on XLPE lines and a seven-year, €600 million contract with Enedis. Quanta Services (PWR) moves from a trading pair into a fundamental thesis after its Niagara Transformer unit began a $71 million expansion in Cheektowaga aimed at 50% more transformer output. Carrier Global (CARR) committed more than $600 million to a Fort Worth chiller plant that starts in 2027.
Isiofia
