2 'Picks and Shovels' AI Stocks: FIX and CLS Ride TSMC's 60% Chip Dominance

AI fever has cooled slightly in equity markets, but the underlying capital expenditure cycle is just heating up. For investors seeking lower-multiple ways to play the AI boom, the 'picks and shovels' approach leads straight to HVAC contractor Comfort Systems and electronics manufacturer Celestica. With TSMC accounting for 60% of all chips worldwide and its growth re-accelerating, the downstream infrastructure companies that turn silicon into functioning data centers are set to see a multi-year tailwind.

The AI infrastructure buildout is showing no signs of slowing, and the latest signal comes from the world's most critical semiconductor manufacturer. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported accelerated revenue growth for June 2026, providing a powerful counter-narrative to recent fears that AI demand has peaked. As discussed on The Motley Fool's 'Hidden Gems Investing' podcast, TSMC fabricates over 90% of the world's most advanced chips and roughly 60% of all computer chips globally. Its monthly revenue figures serve as a leading indicator of global AI chip demand, and the June acceleration suggests hyperscalers and enterprise customers are still scrambling for cutting-edge compute. Concurrently, Meta Platforms is greatly expanding its data center in Louisiana, a concrete expansion that will require not just tens of thousands of GPUs and custom ASICs but also massive physical infrastructure: power, cooling, and custom-fabricated equipment.

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As discussed on The Motley Fool's 'Hidden Gems Investing' podcast, TSMC fabricates over 90% of the world's most advanced chips and roughly 60% of all computer chips globally.

This is where two lesser-known companies enter the spotlight. Comfort Systems USA (NYSE: FIX) and Celestica (NYSE: CLS) were flagged by Motley Fool contributors as 'hidden' beneficiaries of the AI trend. Unlike the semiconductor giants or cloud providers that dominate headlines, these two operate in the essential but often overlooked layers of the AI supply chain. Comfort Systems is a leading mechanical contractor specializing in HVAC installation, maintenance, and retrofitting for large-scale commercial and industrial projects. As data centers multiply and existing facilities are upgraded to handle the heat density of AI training clusters, demand for advanced cooling solutions is soaring. Celestica is an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider that designs and builds server racks, networking switches, storage systems, and power infrastructure for hyperscale and enterprise data centers. In essence, Celestica transforms the raw chips from TSMC into the deployable hardware that powers AI workloads.

The market implications are significant. TSMC's dominance means that any sustained AI capex cycle will flow directly through its fabs, creating a rising tide for companies that build the physical layer around those chips. In 2025 and early 2026, many AI-exposed stocks saw valuation compression as interest rates remained elevated and investors questioned whether AI spending would deliver returns. But TSMC's June report challenges that fear. If chip demand is accelerating, then the physical buildout of data centers — and the associated services provided by Comfort Systems and Celestica — should follow with high correlation. These companies offer investors a different risk/reward profile than chip designers or cloud platforms. They typically trade at lower earnings multiples, generate consistent free cash flow, and benefit from long-term service and maintenance contracts that provide revenue visibility even if capital spending temporarily moderates.