Written by Robert Swift

As the world rapidly shifts into a new era defined by artificial intelligence, energy transition, and digital interconnectedness, a less visible but absolutely essential movement is reshaping global economies: the infrastructure renaissance. No longer limited to roads, bridges, and ports, the new infrastructure stack includes the physical and digital frameworks required to power modern industry, from water treatment systems and cloud networking to semiconductors and the pipes that feed them.

At Tamim, we believe that investors who understand this transformation and its enablers, especially in the form of listed global companies, stand to benefit greatly. Today, we explore three companies sitting at the heart of this invisible backbone: Ebara (TSE:6361), AECOM (NYSE:ACM), and F5 Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV). These are not household names, but they are quietly shaping the foundation of tomorrow’s economy.

The Macro Case for Infrastructure: Rust Never Sleeps

We’ve written before about the renewed trust in “rust.” Governments around the world are rediscovering the importance of industrial capacity. Years of underinvestment in physical infrastructure, driven by fiscal austerity and hyper-financialisation, are now giving way to bipartisan support for large-scale infrastructure initiatives, especially in the U.S., Japan, and parts of Europe.

In the U.S., this shift is most obvious in legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act. In Australia, the energy transition is driving significant new public-private partnerships. And globally, geopolitical tensions, especially between the U.S. and China, are reshaping supply chains and reinforcing the need for resilient physical infrastructure.

This new era is not just about pouring concrete; it’s about rebuilding the foundational systems that support both traditional and emerging industries. Smart logistics, power resiliency, AI data pipelines, water security, and semiconductor manufacturing, all require specialised expertise and industrial muscle. 

Ebara Corporation (TSE: 6361); Powering Water, Waste, and Wafers

Sector: Industrial Pumps, Environmental Systems, Precision Machinery

Ebara might appear on the surface to be a traditional pump manufacturer, but beneath that surface lies a compelling exposure to the most urgent global investment themes: water security, semiconductor manufacturing, and clean energy.

Water & Waste Management

Ebara’s water pumps are critical in infrastructure-heavy use cases: tunnel drainage, sewage systems, irrigation, flood mitigation, and desalination. As extreme weather events become more frequent, municipal governments are investing more heavily in resilient infrastructure, particularly across Asia and the Middle East. Ebara is a direct beneficiary of this trend.

The company also builds municipal and industrial waste incineration plants, areas gaining traction as urban populations rise and landfill space becomes constrained. Ebara’s dual positioning in both water and waste makes it an ideal play on urbanisation and climate adaptation.

Semiconductors & Precision Machinery

The most exciting division, however, is Ebara’s Precision Machinery arm. This division provides plating and cleaning equipment, including CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) tools, for semiconductor wafer production. These tools use water and vacuum systems, areas where Ebara has deep expertise. CMP is critical to flattening the wafer between fabrication steps, a seemingly minor process but essential for chip reliability and performance.

With global chip manufacturing capacity being decentralised (thanks to the CHIPS Act in the U.S. and similar subsidies in Japan and Europe), demand for CMP tools is expected to grow robustly.

Valuation & Market Context

Despite this high-tech exposure, Ebara remains categorised as an “industrial.” It trades at relatively undemanding multiples, especially when compared to pure-play semiconductor peers. For investors seeking exposure to the semiconductor capital equipment cycle without the nosebleed valuations of ASML or Applied Materials, Ebara offers a compelling alternative.

AECOM (NYSE: ACM); Designing the Future of Infrastructure

Sector: Engineering, Design & Environmental Consulting

AECOM is not a construction company in the traditional sense. It is the brains behind the brawn, a professional services powerhouse that helps governments and corporations plan, design, and manage infrastructure projects. With over 50,000 employees across 150 countries, AECOM is an enabler of the global infrastructure transition.

Energy Transition & Grid Modernisation

AECOM plays a critical role in the decarbonisation movement. It works with utilities and governments to design renewable energy facilities, modernise electricity grids, and improve energy transmission across long distances. Their teams handle everything from early-stage environmental assessments to post-construction compliance.

In Australia, AECOM is involved in critical energy transition planning, helping to deliver on-state and federal commitments to net zero. As the electrification of everything accelerates, from transport to industry, companies like AECOM are essential to mapping out the complex systems required.

Transport & Urban Planning

From high-speed rail to airports and bridges, AECOM’s transportation division helps governments plan for the next 30 years. In the U.S., they are a lead consultant on projects funded by the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. In Asia, they are involved in smart city design and climate adaptation planning.

Urban densification is driving demand for better infrastructure everywhere, and AECOM is increasingly viewed as a trusted partner in making cities more livable and connected.

Why This Matters for Investors

AECOM benefits from a long sales cycle and recurring revenue model. Projects often span several years, ensuring forward revenue visibility. The company has been refocusing its operations away from lower-margin construction management toward higher-margin consulting and planning services.

It trades at reasonable valuations for a high-quality, asset-light business with embedded macro tailwinds. If infrastructure is going to boom, someone has to plan it first, and that someone is AECOM.

F5 Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV); Securing the Digital Arteries

Sector: Cloud Infrastructure, Secure Networking

F5 Inc. might sound like a forgotten keyboard key, but it’s very much front and center in the modern digital economy. It operates at the intersection of cloud security, communications infrastructure, and network optimisation.

While companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google dominate the headlines, F5 quietly powers many of the behind-the-scenes functions that make those cloud services secure, fast, and reliable.

Core Business Model

F5 provides application delivery and network security solutions to enterprises and telecom companies. As data flows increase exponentially, particularly with the rise of AI workloads, the need for secure, optimised networking infrastructure is more critical than ever.

Their products help ensure uptime, security, and performance of web applications and services, everything from streaming video to online banking to cloud-hosted enterprise software.

Public Cloud Partnerships & Upside Leverage

What makes F5 particularly attractive is its partnership model. It works closely with AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud to help manage traffic flows and security at scale. This makes it a leveraged beneficiary of growing cloud infrastructure spend without taking on the capital intensity of the hyperscalers themselves.

Recent results show upward revisions in both revenue and earnings guidance. EBIT margins have expanded to 25%, well above industry averages. With a debt-to-equity ratio under 2%, the company offers a defensive yet growth-oriented investment.

Valuation & Fundamentals

F5 trades at ~20x forward earnings, not cheap, but reasonable for a company with rising margins, sticky enterprise customers, and a clean balance sheet. It’s not a “hype” AI name, but it’s quietly powering the pipes through which AI data flows.

The TAMIM Takeaway

The infrastructure revolution isn’t about digging ditches, it’s about building the visible and invisible networks that power tomorrow’s world. Companies like Ebara, AECOM, and F5 are riding long-term, secular tailwinds across urbanisation, energy transition, semiconductor manufacturing, and cloud computing.

They are essential, scalable, and often overlooked. Most importantly, they offer exposure to high-growth themes without speculative risk, excessive valuations, or balance sheet fragility.

In a world obsessed with front-end technology, remember: it’s the invisible backbone, the pipes, pumps, power systems, and protocols, that keeps it all running.

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Disclaimer: Ebara (TSE: 6361), AECOM (NYSE: ACM), and F5 Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) are held in TAMIM Portfolios as at date of article publication. Holdings can change substantially at any given time.