Wall Street is growing skeptical of the data center boom
Investor skepticism and community opposition are slowing planned public offerings by companies tied to the data center build-out. SB Energy delayed plans for an IPO tied to a proposed Ohio data center, while Holtec Nuclear and Aggreko also postponed or slowed offerings amid concerns about data center demand, power needs and market conditions.
Wall Street investors are becoming more cautious about the data center boom as public opposition, rising costs and uncertainty over artificial intelligence growth complicate plans to raise capital. SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary planning what it describes as the world’s largest data center project in Ohio, has delayed its IPO while investors question its proposed valuation and limited operating history. The facility is expected to be leased to OpenAI and backed by Nvidia.
Holtec Nuclear, which develops nuclear power technology that could supply data centers, paused its IPO indefinitely, citing impaired investor confidence and uncertainty surrounding data center development. Power provider Aggreko has also slowed its offering. Despite the setbacks, demand for data center capacity remains strong, and companies including Anthropic, Vantage Data Centers, CyrusOne, Switch and Nscale continue preparing for expansion or public listings as investors assess the sector more carefully.