Why AI Data Center Stocks Are Down Today After Democrats Won Congress
AI data center stocks fell on November 4, 2026, after Democrats won Congress and the Texas governor race, with six builders down about 20% by 11:12 a.m. ET as Amazon, Microsoft and Apple rose about 6%. One of the six, Hut 8, has 75% of the power capacity it is building in Texas, whose governor-elect wants a moratorium, or pause, on data centers.
The short answer. The companies that build AI data centers fell hard after the Democratic wins, even Hut 8 and Modine, whose results showed a $9.8 billion lease and data center sales up 95%, while the biggest tech companies rose. Texas holds about 27% of U.S. data center power, according to a Wells Fargo estimate CNBC cited, so its new fight over data centers matters to anyone following the AI boom. Three quarters of the power capacity Hut 8 is building sits in Texas, and about two thirds of Modine's fall came after the market opened, alongside the falls of the other builders.
Show the data
| Category | Change |
|---|---|
| Modine | -23.9% |
| Hut 8 | -19.6% |
| INNIO | -19.6% |
| Sterling Infrastructure | -19.4% |
| Cipher Digital | -18.8% |
| Solaris Energy | -18.5% |
| Comfort Systems USA | -16.4% |
| Vertiv | -12.3% |
| GE Vernova | -10.6% |
| Nvidia | -1.7% |
| Alphabet | +4.5% |
| Apple | +6.1% |
| Amazon | +6.2% |
| Microsoft | +6.3% |
Three numbers behind the split in AI data center stocks
On this page
- Why are AI data center stocks down today?
- Would a Texas data center moratorium stop projects already being built?
- Which AI data center stocks fell the most?
- How much of Hut 8's data center building is in Texas?
- When did Modine stock fall after its earnings?
- Amazon, Microsoft and Apple stock rose the same morning
- Frequently asked questions
Why are AI data center stocks down today?
The companies that build AI data centers fell after the midterm elections, while some of the biggest tech companies went up. CNBC tied the selling to Democratic wins in Congress and in Texas.
Democrats won majorities in both the House and the Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, and they also won the race for Texas governor, CNBC reported in its 11:03 a.m. ET summary. In its live coverage, in a page updated at 11:03 a.m. ET, CNBC wrote that investors feared "a big Democratic win could mean more restrictions on data centers nationwide." It added that the Texas win by Gina Hinojosa, who promised a moratorium in "the key data center hub," "added to the fears Wednesday."
Texas matters because of its size in this business. CNBC cited a Wells Fargo estimate that Texas holds about 27% of U.S. data center gigawatts, a measure of the electric power these buildings draw. Scott Ladner, chief investment officer of Horizon Investments, put the question to CNBC on election night: "where do you build these data centers?"
The selling was not even. The six hardest hit build sites, supply power, cool servers or rent out data center space, and they fell about 20%. Vertiv and GE Vernova, which also sell power and cooling gear, fell about 11% to 12%. Nvidia, which makes the chips inside, was almost flat.
Would a Texas data center moratorium stop projects already being built?
Nobody can say yet. Hinojosa's campaign asked for a moratorium on data centers until the legislature meets, and it did not say whether that would cover projects already under way. She has not taken office.
Her campaign set out the idea on July 23, 2026, when she called on Governor Greg Abbott "to sign an emergency executive order putting a moratorium on data centers until the legislature meets." She said the pause should last until a session that puts Texans first, so Texas communities are no longer "powerless against these global corporations."
The release splits her plan in two. The moratorium is something she asked a governor to do by executive order. Her other goals, such as making data centers pay for grid upgrades and "stopping subsidies," are listed as priorities for the legislature.
Modine had already named this kind of risk. Its own release lists "opposition to data center development from local communities, environmental or other advocacy groups and/or governmental authorities" among the things that could make its results differ from its plans.
Which AI data center stocks fell the most?
The biggest drops hit companies that prepare sites, supply power, cool servers or rent out data center space. Four of the six worst had put out no press release that day.
Each company describes its own work in its releases. Sterling Infrastructure prepares sites and does the electrical work for data center campuses. Its third quarter release says projects such as data center campuses, factories and chip plants make up about 95% of the nearly $7 billion of work its site and electrical unit has signed, won or is designing. INNIO makes gas engines that give data centers their own power on site. Solaris Energy Infrastructure, based in Houston, builds and runs power systems for data centers and other customers. Modine makes cooling gear. Hut 8 and Cipher Digital build data center campuses and rent them out to large tech and AI companies.
Modine and Hut 8 put out results in the last day. Sterling, Solaris, Cipher and INNIO had issued no press release of their own on Wednesday by 11:10 a.m. ET. Cipher's November 2 update shows how tied it is to Texas: several of its sites passed an early, conditional step in the power hookup process of ERCOT, the Texas grid operator, and it bought a 70 megawatt (MW) site in Texas that it expects to switch on in 2029.
Some of the drop undid a jump the day before. On Tuesday, Hut 8 rose 16% and Cipher 18%, according to StockTitan's closing prices. Modine rose only 2% that day.
Show the data
| Company | What it does | Tuesday close | Price at 11:12 a.m. ET | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modine (MOD) | Cooling | $125.45 | $95.48 | -23.9% |
| Hut 8 (HUT) | Data center campuses | $63.75 | $51.23 | -19.6% |
| INNIO (INIO) | On-site power | $18.31 | $14.73 | -19.6% |
| Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) | Site and electrical work | $361.15 | $291.05 | -19.4% |
| Cipher Digital (CIFR) | Data center campuses | $8.12 | $6.60 | -18.8% |
| Solaris Energy Infrastructure (SEI) | Power | $69.37 | $56.51 | -18.5% |
| Comfort Systems USA (FIX) | Mechanical and electrical work | $1,285.13 | $1,074.49 | -16.4% |
| Vertiv (VRT) | Power and cooling | $235.97 | $207.04 | -12.3% |
| GE Vernova (GEV) | Power equipment | $918.20 | $820.95 | -10.6% |
| CoreWeave (CRWV) | AI cloud | $53.74 | $49.35 | -8.2% |
| Nvidia (NVDA) | AI chips | $206.69 | $203.19 | -1.7% |
Source: StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data, regular session (normal trading hours), last trade between 11:11 and 11:13 a.m. ET on November 4, 2026, against the November 3 close. MW is megawatts, a measure of electric power.
How much of Hut 8's data center building is in Texas?
Most of it. Hut 8 has billions of dollars of leases signed, and its biggest campus sits in Texas.
Hut 8 released its third quarter results at 6:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, after the overnight election calls. The headline was a second lease at its Beacon Point campus with the same tenant as the first. The release puts the lease's expected value at about $9.8 billion over its main contract period, and about $26.6 billion across all of Hut 8's AI data center leases.
Beacon Point is in Nueces County, Texas, according to Hut 8's July 20 release. It holds 1,000 megawatts (MW) of the 1,330 MW of power capacity that Hut 8 has under construction. The rest is at River Bend in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. That puts three quarters of what Hut 8 is building in Texas.
The money leans the same way. Beacon Point's two leases carry about $19.6 billion of the $26.6 billion total. Hut 8 also agreed to buy two more sites in West Texas.
Show the data
| Part | Value | Squares |
|---|---|---|
| Texas (Beacon Point) | 75% | 75 |
| Louisiana (River Bend) | 25% | 25 |
Costs jumped in the quarter. Interest expense rose to $105.5 million from $8.6 million a year earlier, while revenue fell. Hut 8 still reported a profit, mostly from gains on the Bitcoin it holds, most of them not yet sold. It expects both campuses to be paid for by money raised for each project, without new shares or debt at the parent company.
| Hut 8, July to September | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $83.5 million | $71.1 million |
| General and administrative costs | $25.9 million | $99.6 million |
| Interest expense | $8.6 million | $105.5 million |
| Gains on digital assets, mostly unrealized | $76.6 million | $413.8 million |
| Net income | $50.6 million | $189.5 million |
| Adjusted EBITDA, Hut 8's own profit measure before interest, taxes, depreciation and other items it excludes | $30.5 million | $33.0 million |
Source: Hut 8 third quarter 2026 release, November 4, 2026. Hut 8 bought back $74.7 million of its shares in the quarter and $175.3 million after it, paid for with Bitcoin sales, and raised to $1.0 billion the total its board lets it spend buying back shares.
Hut 8 was already down 16% at 9:29 a.m. ET, before the bell, and was down 19.6% at 11:12 a.m. ET, in StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data. Its release and the election results came out within hours of each other, so the price alone cannot tell which one moved it more.
When did Modine stock fall after its earnings?
Modine's data center sales nearly doubled. Its last trade on the evening of the report was the same as at the bell. Most of the drop came the next morning, after the market opened.
Modine reported results for its fiscal second quarter, July to September, at 4:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, election day. Sales in its Data Centers business jumped 95%, mainly from more sales to the largest cloud companies in North America. Chief executive Neil Brinker said the business had "record orders and backlog," the orders it still has to fill.
The same release showed the cost of that growth. In the Data Centers business, what was left of sales after the cost of making the products fell to 19.7% from 24.4%. That share is called the gross margin. Modine blamed "higher material, component and tariff costs." Spending on more factory room and on parts in stock also used more cash than the business brought in, and its debt grew.
Modine still calls its sales outlook higher. It now expects $3.1 billion to $3.2 billion this fiscal year from the business left after it split off its Performance Technologies unit on October 1, and plans to give longer term targets at an Analyst and Investor Day on November 18.
| July to September 2025 | July to September 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Data Centers sales | $225.0 million | $439.7 million |
| Gross margin (sales left after costs) | 24.4% | 19.7% |
| Operating income, profit from operations | $35.9 million | $61.2 million |
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| Modine | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total sales, July to September 2026 | $994.4 million, up 35% |
| Cash spent beyond what came in after investment, six months to September 30, 2026 | $145.6 million (a year earlier, $30.3 million) |
| Net debt, borrowings minus cash, September 30, 2026 | $573.7 million, up $210.9 million since March 31 |
| Inventories, September 30, 2026 | $697.5 million (March 31: $506.1 million) |
Source: Modine second quarter fiscal 2027 release, November 3, 2026.
The timing is the surprise. In StockTitan's minute-by-minute Nasdaq data, Modine jumped briefly after the bell, when few shares were changing hands, then settled. Its last after-hours trade on Tuesday, at 7:59 p.m. ET, was $125.50, the same as at the bell. The stock started to slide around 7:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday and was down 7.5% just before the 9:30 open.
Most of the damage came next. Modine lost another big piece in the first half hour of trading, at the same time as the other builders. By 11:12 a.m. ET it was down 23.9%, so about two thirds of the fall came after the open.
Show the data
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Tue 4:15 p.m. | Modine releases its fiscal second quarter results. |
| Tue 7:59 p.m. | After a brief jump with few shares traded, the last after-hours trade is $125.50, the same as at the bell. |
| Overnight | Election calls show Democrats winning Congress and the Texas governor race. |
| Wed 6:30 a.m. | Hut 8 releases its third quarter results. |
| Wed 9:29 a.m. | Before the open, Modine trades at $116.00, down 7.5%. |
| Wed 9:59 a.m. | After the first half hour of trading, Modine trades at $97.60. |
| Wed 11:12 a.m. | Modine trades at $95.48, down 23.9% from Tuesday's close. |
Amazon, Microsoft and Apple stock rose the same morning
Four of the biggest tech companies rose about 5% to 6%. CNBC reported the rally without a reason for any one of them, and none of the four had put out a press release by late morning.
Microsoft, Amazon and Apple were each up about 6% at 11:12 a.m. ET, and Alphabet about 5%, in StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data. CNBC wrote of the Magnificent Seven, the group of the biggest U.S. tech stocks, that they "rallied Wednesday morning, breaking away from the broader artificial intelligence trade that was in a downturn." None of the four had a press release on Wednesday as of 11:10 a.m. ET.
For the whole market's day, see StockTitan's stock market today coverage for November 4. Amazon shows how much money flows from big tech into the build-out. In its October 29 results, it said it expects about $220 billion of capital spending in 2026, and that the rise in its spending on property and equipment mainly reflects investments in AI.
Spending like Amazon's is what the builders sell into. On Wednesday, Amazon's shares rose while the shares of the companies that build, power and cool data centers fell, including Hut 8 and Cipher, which have big projects in the state whose governor-elect wants a pause.
What to watch
- Whether a Texas data center pause happens, and whether it reaches projects already under way such as Beacon Point: the orders Hinojosa issues once she takes office as governor.
- Modine's longer term sales and earnings targets: its Analyst and Investor Day on November 18, 2026.
- Whether Hut 8's first data halls, the server rooms inside a campus, arrive on time: River Bend is targeted for the second quarter of 2027 and Beacon Point's first phase for the third quarter of 2027, in Hut 8's quarterly reports.
Our numbers
These figures are our calculations from the sources linked in this article. The stock moves are single readings at one time of day and will change by the close.
- 75% of Hut 8's power capacity under construction is in Texas: 1,000 MW at Beacon Point out of 1,330 MW in Hut 8's third quarter release, with Beacon Point's Texas location from its July 20 release.
- About 74% of Hut 8's expected AI lease value is in Texas: the $19.6 billion Beacon Point total against the $26.6 billion portfolio total, both from the third quarter release.
- About two thirds of Modine's fall came after the open: its drop from Tuesday's close to $116.00 at 9:29 a.m. ET, against its drop to $95.48 at 11:12 a.m. ET, in StockTitan minute data.
- Four of the six hardest hit had issued no press release that day: StockTitan's press release records for each company, checked at 11:10 a.m. ET.
Frequently asked questions
What caused the AI data center stock drop on November 4?
Companies that build, power and cool AI data centers fell after Democrats won Congress and the Texas governor race. CNBC reported that investors feared more limits on data centers, and Gina Hinojosa, Texas's governor-elect, has called for a moratorium on them until the legislature meets.
What are AI data center stocks?
They are shares of companies that make money from building or running the buildings that hold AI chips. That includes site builders such as Sterling Infrastructure, power suppliers such as Solaris and INNIO, cooling makers such as Modine and Vertiv, and campus developers such as Hut 8 and Cipher Digital.
Which companies make money from AI data centers?
Chip makers, the companies that prepare sites and supply power and cooling, and developers that rent out space. Their customers include the largest cloud companies. Amazon alone expects about $220 billion of capital spending in 2026, and says AI investment mainly explains the rise in that spending, according to its October 29 results.
Is Texas banning data centers?
Hinojosa, who won the race for governor on November 3, has called for an emergency order putting a moratorium on data centers until the legislature meets, according to her campaign. She has not taken office, so no such order is in place.
How much of Hut 8's data center building is in Texas?
Three quarters. Its Beacon Point campus in Nueces County, Texas, holds 1,000 MW of the 1,330 MW Hut 8 has under construction, according to its own releases.
Sources
- Hut 8 Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results, November 4, 2026
- Hut 8 Fully Commercializes 1 GW Beacon Point AI Data Center Campus, July 20, 2026
- Hut 8 Reports First Quarter 2026 Results, May 6, 2026
- Modine Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2027 Results, November 3, 2026
- Sterling Reports Record Third Quarter Results, October 28, 2026
- Cipher Digital Provides Third Quarter 2026 Business Update, November 2, 2026
- INNIO Reports Record Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results, October 27, 2026
- Solaris Energy Infrastructure Raises 2026 Guidance, September 8, 2026
- Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results, October 29, 2026
- Stock Market Today, November 4, 2026, StockTitan
- Gina Hinojosa campaign, data center moratorium release, July 23, 2026
The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendation, or an endorsement of any particular investment strategy. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.