Is Nvidia disrupting HVAC? Johnson Controls, Trane shares dip amid cooling shift

Investing.com -- Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) stock fell 2.6% Tuesday following concerns that Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) new Rubin chip platform could significantly reduce cooling requirements in data centers, potentially impacting HVAC companies’ future performance.

The selloff extended to other major HVAC players, with Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT) dropping 3.5% and Carrier Global (NYSE: CARR) declining 1.6% as investors assessed the implications of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s comments at CES 2026.

During his presentation, Huang highlighted that the new Vera Rubin platform of chips will have the same cooling needs as the Grace Blackwell chip despite substantial power increases, stating that "no water chillers are necessary for datacenters" due to liquid cooling innovations.

Barclays analyst Julian Mitchell noted that these developments could particularly affect companies focused on space cooling, chillers, and air handling with minimal presence in liquid cooling. Johnson Controls, with data centers representing a low-double-digit percentage of total sales, appears most exposed among major HVAC providers.

The analyst identified Trane Technologies, with approximately 10% of sales from data centers, and Carrier Global, with roughly 5% exposure, as other companies that could face headwinds from reduced chiller intensity in future data center designs.

The news wasn’t negative for all companies in the sector. Mitchell noted that nVent Electric (NYSE: NVT) could benefit from these developments as it has "no presence in space cooling/chillers/air handling, but [does] have a decent position in datacenter liquid cooling." Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT) was also identified as potentially benefiting due to its "strong historical position in precision air cooling" and "strong position in liquid cooling."

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