Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP -0.80%) stock skyrocketed this week and was trading 26% higher through 2 p.m. ET Friday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Shares of the infrastructure giant hit a high of 31.4% in trading during the week after it reported strong quarterly numbers and announced a deal to acquire a portfolio of data centers.
Brookfield Infrastructure delivers strong FFO growth
Brookfield Infrastructure's funds from operations (FFO) grew 7% year over year to $560 million in the third quarter. The company, which owns assets across utilities, transportation, midstream energy, and data centers, not only benefited from higher tariffs indexed to inflation, but also from the $1 billion it invested in capital projects in the past 12 months. Utilities -- also its largest contributor to FFO -- was the strongest segment in Q3, with its FFO rising 17% year over year.
Brookfield Infrastructure also updated investors about its investment plans. Contradictory to the market's fears amid a high interest rate environment, Brookfield Infrastructure said the current environment is strong for capital deployment, and that its investments in 2023 are expected to generate "some of the best risk-adjusted returns" the company has seen "in the last decade."
To give you some examples of its investments, Brookfield Infrastructure recently bought Triton, the world's largest lessor of intermodal freight containers, as well as some data centers. In the months ahead, the company will acquire a portfolio of data centers out of bankruptcy from Cyxtera for roughly $1.3 billion and combine it with its existing data center platform, Evoque. The deal should help Brookfield Infrastructure exploit opportunities in artificial intelligence and cloud platforms.
Why Brookfield Infrastructure stock remains a top pick
I strongly believed that the recent sell-off in Brookfield Infrastructure stock was unwarranted given the company's steady FFO and dividend growth, which is why I even picked it as my top stock to buy in November. Even though the stock gained solid ground this week, there's still time for long-term investors to consider this stock, especially after its strong latest numbers that reflect Brookfield Infrastructure's resilience amid challenging times.
