Artificial intelligence (AI) is today's headline-grabbing technology advance. Companies are racing against each other to not only develop the best AI, but to build the infrastructure needed to support it. If you are a long-term investor, however, you don't have to focus on the AI chipmakers. There is a far more foundational need that AI can't live without and Brookfield Renewable (NYSE: BEP) (BEPC 2.68%) is happily prepared to provide it.
What is artificial intelligence?
When you look past what artificial intelligence can do, which is truly incredible, you see that it is just a fancy computer program. Computer programs have to run on computers, which is why companies like Nvidia are all the rage on Wall Street. Nvidia makes high-powered computer chips that are capable of running AI programs.
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Those chips, however, must reside in computers. Those computers have to live in buildings. So there are other ways to play the AI build-out. In fact, that's been a construction boom in the data center space. One of the limiting factors with data centers, however, is reliable electricity. You can build as many data centers as you want, but if there isn't enough electricity to power them, they are useless.
What's interesting here is that there is a risk of overbuilding in the data center property niche. Overbuilding the infrastructure that supported the internet at the turn of the century was a big problem. However, it helped usher in the widespread adoption of the internet because the overbuilding resulted in lower prices for things like fiber optic connections.
If there is overbuilding in AI, which seems highly likely given past technology booms, it is likely that the AI assets built will remain active. If history is any guide, the costs associated with using AI will fall as supply outstrips demand. The electricity needed would remain the same, if not increase, as adoption of AI spreads, thanks to falling costs.
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Brookfield Renewable is here to help
Brookfield Renewable has already signed deals with Microsoft and Alphabet's Google to supply the clean energy that will support their AI infrastructure build-outs. While any electricity can power AI, clean and renewable energy is an increasingly important part of the global power system.
Brookfield Renewable is a leader in the clean energy space, with a portfolio that spans North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. It also has material diversification across power generation sources, with exposure to hydroelectric, solar, wind, storage, and nuclear energy. It is a one-stop shop for companies that are looking for a solution to their AI power needs.
Income investors in particular have an interesting opportunity with Brookfield Renewable. The partnership class of shares, which trades under the ticker BEP, boasts a well-above-market 5.5% distribution yield. The corporate share structure, for those who don't want to own a partnership, trades under the ticker BEPC and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. They represent the exact same entity and have the exact same dividend payout; the difference is that there is higher demand for the corporate version. That demand is likely coming from institutional investors that are barred from owning partnerships.
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The real attraction, however, is in the potential for dividend growth. Brookfield Renewable believes it will be able to increase its dividend by 5% to 9% a year for the foreseeable future. Given the past results, which included annualized funds from operations (FFO) per unit growth of 8% a year and distribution growth of 6% a year, the target 5%-to-9% range seems like a highly achievable goal.
You don't have to buy an AI stock to benefit from AI
If buying an AI stock worries you, given the huge price advances some AI stocks have experienced, you aren't alone. And you have options. One of the most attractive options for dividend investors is Brookfield Renewable, in either of its variants. However, it isn't just the high yield that should attract you; it is the opportunity to benefit from the dividend growth that will come from helping to build out the infrastructure needed to support AI.
