As the data centre investment theme comes under pressure from political circles and local community backlash, the next beneficiaries could be mega-cap big tech rather than existing equipment suppliers, a forecast shows.

On Aug. 24, CNBC reported that Jim Cramer (짐 크레이머) said the data centre investment trend is not over, but the winners going forward may differ from the past.

Cramer said the investment logic around data centres is under attack and may not be the same as before, calling it the biggest investment theme likely to emerge once in a generation. Data-centre-related stocks have recently faced share price pressure over backlash tied to power costs, water use and burdens on local communities.

He cited Pennsylvania and Texas in particular. Governors in the two regions previously supported data centre development, but are now demanding stricter requirements. "You can make rules and you can placate the communities, but uncontrolled expansion is probably effectively over," Cramer said.

The changes are increasing uncertainty over the pace of data centre expansion. Cramer said markets could become cautious about continuing to assign high valuations across data centre beneficiaries even if underlying demand remains strong. He cited gas turbine maker GE Vernova and memory companies Micron, SanDisk, Western Digital and Seagate as stocks that could face this pressure.

He said tighter regulation and rising community demands could work in favour of Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta. He said these hyperscalers have the financial capacity to bear tougher rules and compensation demands, while small, speculative data centre developers may struggle to withstand the same burden.

"The biggest beneficiaries are these companies," Cramer said. "They have the ability to compensate communities and keep building warehouses filled with servers." If fewer developers pursue data centres, competition for land, labour and power could ease. That could also leave hyperscalers room to reduce costs as they continue expanding AI infrastructure.

He drew a line, saying the political backlash does not signal that data centre investment itself should be abandoned. He said the advantage could shift toward mega-cap technology firms that can keep building even under tougher constraints. "They are the winners," Cramer said. "They were treated as losers when data centre construction costs were overemphasised, but this political backlash could become an unexpected positive for hyperscalers."

The core point of his remarks was that the centre of the data centre investment theme could shift from equipment, components and would-be developer winners to big tech with regulatory 대응 capabilities and financial strength. Who can expand AI infrastructure longer and more stably, rather than demand itself, is emerging as a key market yardstick.