Infrastructure is essential to transport and store energy, water, freight, passengers, and data. It's the physical backbone of the global economy, so a well-maintained infrastructure is vital to the health and continued growth of the economy.
Infrastructure is costly to build and maintain. The U.S. alone needs to invest an estimated $3.5 trillion by 2033 to bring its surface transportation infrastructure up to date, according to the American Society of Engineers. On top of that, the country needs to invest money in water transportation ($45 billion), energy ($1.9 trillion), aviation ($310 billion), and drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater ($1.7 trillion) infrastructure.
Globally, the need for infrastructure investment is even greater. Swiss Re estimates that the investment required through 2040 to rebuild and expand the world's infrastructure is more than $80 trillion.
Governments can't afford that expense by themselves, which is leading them to increasingly collaborate with companies in the private sector. An infrastructure company may own, operate, build, maintain, or expand infrastructure systems. The different types include:
- Transportation infrastructure: The physical assets that move people and freight from one place to another, including airports, railroads, toll roads, and ports.
- Commodity infrastructure: The physical assets that produce, transport, process, and store commodities such as water, oil, natural gas, refined petroleum products, and electricity.
- Data infrastructure: Physical networks and components that enable the movement and storage of information, such as communications towers and data centers.
Five top infrastructure stocks for 2025
Below are five top infrastructure companies that have long histories of creating shareholder value and are well positioned to benefit from the growth in infrastructure spending in the coming years.
1. Brookfield Infrastructure
NYSE: BIP
Key Data Points
Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP -1.18%) (BIPC -4.62%) is a major beneficiary of the trend in government entities increasingly transferring ownership of infrastructure assets to the private sector to fund new investment. It’s a leader in owning, operating, and acquiring transportation, midstream energy, utility, and data infrastructure. Brookfield holds a diversified, global portfolio of infrastructure companies.
Its strategy has paid off. Brookfield Infrastructure has a long history of increasing its dividend payments and outperforming the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC). The company expects to boost its dividend by 5% to 9% annually over the long term, fueled by more than 10% annual funds from operations (FFO) per share growth. That makes it likely to continue paying a higher-than-average dividend yield.
2. Enbridge
NYSE: ENB
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NYSE: AMT
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American Tower (AMT -0.61%) is one of the largest infrastructure-focused real estate investment trusts (REITs). The company enables mobile data and voice transmissions by operating large communications towers around the world. This infrastructure is crucial for enabling 5G networks to expand. American Tower also has a highly interconnected U.S. data center platform.
American Tower sees a long investment opportunity ahead, supporting the continued growth of communications and data infrastructure. The infrastructure REIT expects the growth to steadily increase its cash flow and its dividend.
4. Caterpillar
NYSE: CAT
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Caterpillar (CAT -2.05%) is a leading global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. The company's products make it a prime beneficiary of increasing global infrastructure spending.
The industrial company has a long history of creating value for shareholders. Caterpillar has increased its dividend for more than 30 years. This trend should continue, given the growing need for equipment to build and maintain global infrastructure.
5. Fluor
NYSE: FLR
Key Data Points
Fluor (FLR -4.80%) is a leading global provider of engineering, procurement, and construction services. It focuses on three markets:
- Energy solutions: Fluor serves customers in the chemicals, liquified natural gas (LNG), nuclear project services, and production and fuels sectors.
- Urban solutions: Flour provides services to the advanced technology, infrastructure, life sciences, mining and metals, and government sectors.
- Mission solutions: The company also provides technical and project expertise to government agencies.
Flour’s wide range of capabilities makes it a key beneficiary of increased global infrastructure spending. As a leader in engineering and construction, it will play a key role in building infrastructure projects in the coming years.
Top infrastructure ETFs for 2025
For investors who prefer not to choose individual stocks, buying shares in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) enables you to make diversified, directional bets on stock market sectors and investing themes. Investors have several infrastructure-focused ETF options.
The three infrastructure ETFs listed below concentrate on different aspects of the infrastructure industry. This variety, combined with their large asset bases -- these funds are the top three infrastructure ETFs by assets under management -- makes any of these ETFs a great option for gaining portfolio exposure to the infrastructure investing megatrend.
1. iShares Global Infrastructure ETF
NASDAQ: IGF
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NYSEMKT: PAVE
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How to invest in infrastructure stocks
It's easy to add infrastructure stocks to your portfolio. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to buy infrastructure stocks:
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
Is investing in infrastructure right for you?
The global economy requires trillions of dollars of spending in the coming decades to rebuild aging infrastructure and construct new assets to meet the needs of steadily rising populations. With such immense needs and so many ways to invest, adding infrastructure stocks or ETFs to your investment portfolio is a straightforward way to profit from this megatrend.
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