AAON Inc. is seeing a growing order backlog driven by the acceleration of artificial intelligence data center construction across the U.S. [1, 2].
The surge in AI infrastructure represents a critical shift for the HVAC and cooling equipment manufacturer as it pivots to meet the high-energy demands of modern computing. This growth allows the company to scale production and seek higher pricing power in a competitive industrial market [3, 5].
In the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended March 31, the company reported net sales of $496.9 million [4]. This represents a 54 percent increase in revenue year-over-year [4]. The company has identified a potential data center market opportunity valued at $1 billion [3].
Despite the revenue growth, the company faced some financial headwinds. Gross margin for the first quarter compressed to 25.1 percent [4]. However, leadership expects these figures to stabilize as the company captures scale efficiencies.
"Our backlog is expanding as customers accelerate data-center build-outs, and we anticipate margin improvement as we capture scale efficiencies," the AAON CEO said during a first quarter earnings call [4].
This expansion is visible in several regions, including new AI data center projects in North Dakota [2]. The company is also observing a broader recovery in the general HVAC market [3].
Industry analysts suggest the trend is part of a larger capital expenditure cycle. "We see a multiyear surge in artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending that will continue to drive demand for data-center cooling and power equipment," a KeyBanc analyst said [2].
Ryan Merkel, an analyst with William Blair, said that AAON is seeing a recovery in the HVAC market and a $1 billion data center opportunity, though margin pressure remains a focus [3].
“Our backlog is expanding as customers accelerate data-center build-outs.”
The alignment of AAON's growth with AI infrastructure indicates that the 'AI trade' is moving beyond chipmakers and into the physical layer of the internet. As data centers require more sophisticated cooling to prevent hardware failure, HVAC providers are becoming essential bottlenecks in the deployment of AI. The tension between rising revenue and compressing margins suggests the company is investing heavily in capacity to meet this demand, which may impact short-term profitability for long-term market share.
