Investors once shrugged off industrials as slow-growth cyclical businesses that lagged tech at every turn. But the AI boom has driven a significant re-rating of the sector. It is reshaping the physical economy and highlighting the massive physical infrastructure required to build and power the digital economy. Data center power constraints, grid capacity bottlenecks and the rush to reshore supply chains have rewritten the AI investment playbook. The digital economy cannot grow without a massive expansion of physical infrastructure. Now, that includes the majority of modern-day industrials.
A meaningful portion of these industrials sits at the heart of this transformation, now viewed as a major growth engine fueled by AI infrastructure demands. The current capex spending supercycle has propelled the sector to become one of the best performers in the S&P 500, up 11% this year. It’s ranked third behind energy, buoyed by geopolitical tensions, and tech, still riding high off a strong earnings season. Industrials have shed their old cyclical, value-only label. They consistently top the leaderboard, outstripping almost all other cyclical and defensive sectors on a rolling five-year basis.
“AI has become one of the strongest demand drivers industrial automation has seen,” said Zeno Mercer, head of robotics & AI research at TMX VettaFi. “The infrastructure AI depends on is itself automated. The data centers, fabs, electrification and reshored plants behind it all require automation to build and operate, and orders and deployments have already skyrocketed.”
Capturing the Pureplay Automation Boom
The ROBO Global suite has emerged as a major destination for capital in 2026 — particularly for allocators seeking to bypass legacy industrial names and target the pure-play intersection of intelligent machinery and hardware. Combined assets across the Robo Global benchmark suite — spanning the ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF (ROBO ), the ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (THNQ ) and the ROBO Global Healthcare Technology and Innovation ETF (HTEC ) — have shot up to near $7 billion, up from $4.1 billion at the beginning of the year.
ROBO’s diversified global index targets the enablers of factory-floor automation, logistics machinery and advanced sensing. The $2 billion ETF capitalizes on AI’s leap into automated hardware and smart factory floors. Nearly half of the fund’s weight allocates to the industrials sector, specifically targeting the mechanics of automation. Industrial machinery (~34%) and electronic components/sensors (~22%) heavily dominate top sub-sectors. On a total return basis, ROBO has risen 29% and brought in over $300 million in new money this year. Overall global assets linked to the ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index have doubled over the past year.
Other Standout Performers
As we approach the midpoint of 2026, this shift from pure software bets to tangible hardware investments has reshaped sector fundamentals for advisors guiding growth allocations.
- The Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE ) has seen nearly $2 billion in net inflows year-to-date. Its exposure to companies driving construction, engineering and raw materials behind the domestic infrastructure buildout have fueled those inflows. PAVE has evolved from a simple reshoring play into a cornerstone for capturing AI’s domestic physical buildout. The fund is up 17% on a total return basis.
- Meanwhile, the behemoth Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI ) remains a bastion of institutional-grade liquidity, with a haul of nearly $2 billion in net inflows. Propelled by the massive technological evolution of core holdings like GE Aerospace and heavy equipment innovators, the $30 billion fund proves that AI-driven innovation is reinventing even traditional industrials.
Industrials have vastly outperformed traditional growth and value mainstays, trailing only its mega-cap tech and energy cohorts. Broad tech valuations are flashing caution signals. They encourage a strategic reallocation into focused ETFs at the crossroads of heavy industry and AI infrastructure. This year’s rally in industrials marks the continuation of a deep, multi-year structural trend driven by reshoring, the infrastructure bill, and now, the massive AI data center buildout.
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VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for ROBO, HTEC, and THNQ, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, ROBO, HTEC and THNQ are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of ROBO, HTEC or THNQ.
