Morgan Stanley: The AI stock sell-off seems excessive, and the delay in data centers may support pricing

Morgan Stanley believes that the market is concerned that the results of the U.S. elections may slow down data center construction, leading to a sell-off of AI-related stocks, which seems excessive. The firm stated that AI spending is likely to continue to expand and noted that the previously expected planning capacity of approximately 5 gigawatts for U.S. data centers in 2028 may be postponed to 2029, rather than being canceled.

Morgan Stanley stated that this keeps the spending plans of hyperscale cloud service providers largely unchanged. Analysts said that this delay could extend the AI investment cycle by alleviating supply constraints and supporting pricing; they remain optimistic about major AI beneficiaries including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Google, while also finding opportunities among semiconductor, infrastructure, and software companies.