Key Points
Comfort Systems USA and Vertiv Holdings have experienced tremendous growth in recent years as tech giants have been investing heavily in data centers.
These companies are fairly small when compared to Nvidia, but they have generated superior gains than the chip stock in the past five years.
Nvidia(NASDAQ: NVDA) has amassed incredible returns over the past five years. It's up over 1,200%, soaring far above the S&P 500's gains of about 70%. It has been a growth beast, and its valuation is approaching $5 trillion. If you invested $10,000 into the company five years ago, your investment would be worth $130,000.
What may surprise you, however, is that even with such impressive gains, it's still not the top performer on the S&P 500. There are two stocks within the index that have outperformed the chip giant in the past five years. Comfort Systems USA (NYSE: FIX) and Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT) have both done better. Here's how much they've risen (returns are as of the end of April 21), why they've done so well, and if they are still good buys today.
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Vertiv Holdings: up 1,300%
Amid the growth in artificial intelligence (AI), companies have been investing heavily in the construction of data centers. Vertiv provides the critical infrastructure for data centers and helps with thermal management. As a result, the business has experienced strong demand for its products. Last year, its sales totaled $10.2 billion, which is a significant increase from the $5.7 billion it generated back in 2022.
Today, the company reported strong numbers yet again, posting that its quarterly sales for the first quarter of 2026 (which ended March 31) rose by 30% and net income soared by 137%. For the full year, the company is projecting its sales might rise as high as $14 billion, which would imply organic growth of around 30%.
At around $120 billion in market cap, Vertiv's valuation remains fairly light when compared to Nvidia, despite its impressive gains over the past five years. For smaller companies, there can be much more room for their shares to rise higher than a behemoth such as Nvidia, and thus, that's likely played an important role in the stock's rapid ascent.
Today, Vertiv's stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 55, which is based on analyst projections. That's a bit steep when you consider that Nvidia's forward P/E is only 25. While Vertiv may still have more upside, I'd be surprised if it can outperform Nvidia given its inflated valuation.
Comfort Systems USA: up 2,000%
The top stock on the S&P 500 index, in terms of five-year returns, is Comfort Systems USA. During that period, its stock has soared close to 2,000%. That means a $10,000 investment in the company back then would be worth over $200,000 right now.
The company is involved in building mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. It's been a hot buy due to demand for data centers, which has resulted in a huge backlog. Last year, the company generated $9.1 billion in sales, with its top line more than doubling in a period of three years (revenue in 2022 was $4.1 billion). With tremendous demand due to data centers, the business may continue to do well for the foreseeable future. Its backlog as of the end of 2025 was just under $12 billion, doubling from a year earlier.
If demand for data center construction remains high, as it's expected to be as companies continue to invest heavily in AI, Comfort Systems stock may still have room to rise higher. But as with Vertiv, the problem becomes valuation. Comfort Systems has a market cap of around $59 billion and was only added to the S&P 500 late last year. The stock's forward P/E of 47 is a bit high, suggesting that investors are pricing in a lot of growth into its valuation already. The danger is that if there's a slowdown in business or tech companies begin to scale back on data centers, that could lead to a sharp decline in Comfort's stock.
While this is another promising long-term investment due to data center demand, you should tread carefully with the stock, as it doesn't offer much, if any, margin of safety at its current valuation. And with such a large run-up in value, a correction may be overdue. For now, however, it remains a hot buy -- this year the industrial stock is already up around 80%.
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David Jagielski, CPA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Comfort Systems USA, Nvidia, and Vertiv. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
