Investing in the Backbone of the New Economy

As the world rushes headlong into the age of artificial intelligence, electrification, and digital dependency, much of the investor focus remains fixed on the front-end winners: AI models, chip designers, and consumer-facing tech. But behind every leap in productivity and every transition to cleaner, smarter systems lies a quieter revolution, the global rebuild of our physical and digital infrastructure.

At TAMIM, we believe this shift presents an extraordinary long-term opportunity. While the headlines celebrate ChatGPT or the latest Nvidia chip, it is companies like Sterling Infrastructure, Arrow Electronics, and Kajima Corporation that are laying the foundations of the intelligent economy. These businesses may not shout for attention, but they are quietly enabling the 21st century.

Intelligence Infrastructure: The New Growth Engine

It’s tempting to think of AI as a purely software phenomenon. But as Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, has noted, AI is a full-stack transformation. Data centres, networks, electric grids, semiconductors, and logistics chains, they’re all part of the ecosystem.

This is where Sterling Infrastructure, Arrow Electronics, and Kajima excel. They represent the brains, brawn, and bandwidth required to operationalise the AI revolution:

• Sterling is constructing the physical pads for hyperscale data centres and next-gen manufacturing facilities.
• Arrow designs and delivers the complex electronics, components, and computing infrastructure to power edge and cloud environments.
• Kajima builds and maintains the physical environments, hospitals, campuses, earthquake-resistant infrastructure, in which these technologies live.

In short, these companies make AI and the digital economy possible in the real world.

Sterling Infrastructure: The Smart Shovel in America’s Rebuild

Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ: STRL) is a US-based engineering and construction group with its boots firmly planted in America’s re-industrialisation and digital infrastructure renaissance. Operating across E-infrastructure, transportation, and building solutions, Sterling is benefitting directly from three unstoppable forces: federal infrastructure stimulus, a manufacturing revival, and the exponential growth in data centre demand.

Its E-Infrastructure segment, which focuses on site development for AI-enabled data centres, warehouses, and manufacturing, has seen explosive growth. With shares up over 85% in the last three months, this isn’t just a cyclical bounce, it’s structural.

Meanwhile, Sterling’s transportation unit addresses the crumbling US infrastructure highlighted in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2025 report card, reinforcing the tailwinds behind highways, bridges, and ports. Its building solutions division focuses on the high-growth Sun Belt regions, targeting residential concrete and plumbing in booming states like Texas.

Are there risks? Certainly. The company is reliant on a handful of clients, particularly in its AI-focused pipeline and Department of Transportation contracts. But with strong revenue visibility and a scalable model, Sterling represents a quintessential Tamim holding: real growth, strong fundamentals, and misunderstood potential.

Arrow Electronics: The Invisible Hand of Industrial Technology

Arrow Electronics (NYSE: ARW) is the unsung architect behind much of the world’s industrial and commercial electronics. With a global footprint and a client base that includes the biggest names in computing, telecommunications, automotive, and industrial automation, Arrow is the ultimate picks-and-shovels provider to the digital economy.

Its edge? Arrow doesn’t just supply components, it delivers integrated solutions, from supply chain design to data analytics, hardware, and systems integration. For companies facing tariff uncertainty or volatile global supply chains, Arrow offers a lifeline: reliable delivery, visibility, and antifragility.

In today’s era of fragmented geopolitics and volatile logistics, this makes Arrow a vital strategic partner to global enterprises. It is no surprise, then, that revenue revisions have been trending positively. Investors are beginning to realise that Arrow is not just a distributor, but a system-level enabler of digital transformation.

While not flashy, its stability and relevance in a changing world give it a valuable role in a diversified global portfolio. Think of Arrow as the backbone of modern electronics, invisible to most consumers, but indispensable to every manufacturer.

Kajima Corporation: Building for a Resilient Future

Kajima Corporation (TSE: 1812), one of Japan’s oldest and most respected construction and civil engineering firms, is more than just a traditional builder. It is an operator, innovator, and problem solver with global reach. From coastal defences and earthquake-proof buildings to green energy systems and data centres, Kajima operates at the nexus of sustainability, resilience, and renewal.

Its position in the Tamim Global High Conviction portfolio reflects a dual thesis: first, that Japan is on the verge of a structural inflationary shift; and second, that global demand for resilient infrastructure will continue to rise.

Kajima’s presence in Asia, the Pacific, and the US allows it to benefit from multiple stimulus programs and private sector CapEx booms. Its diversified business model includes real estate, environmental services, and specialised construction for logistics, hotels, and public health infrastructure.

In a world increasingly shaped by climate volatility, supply chain fragmentation, and energy transformation, Kajima offers strategic exposure to the kinds of projects that are not optional, but essential.

A Hedge Against Volatility, a Bet on Productivity

Investors face a paradox: extreme technological acceleration on one side, and extreme geopolitical and economic volatility on the other. The result? An investment environment where conviction is difficult and panic is easy.

The businesses profiled here are not reactive trades, they are proactive allocations to long-term themes:

• Productivity gains from digital transformation and automation
• Resilient, smart infrastructure that bridges the physical and digital worlds
• A rebalanced energy policy that complements renewables with reliable baseload power and grid resilience

In short, this is where macro meets micro: structural tailwinds manifesting in tangible earnings.

The Capital Expenditure Supercycle Is Here

After decades of underinvestment in infrastructure, the world is waking up to the urgent need for renewal and expansion. The CapEx supercycle is not just about potholes and power plants. It’s about preparing for a digitised, decentralised, and decarbonised economy.

• Sterling Infrastructure is building the roads, bridges, and pads that undergird AI data centres and solar farms.
• Arrow Electronics provides the brains and logistics to keep industry running, no matter the macro conditions.
• Kajima Corporation is modernising cities and regions to withstand floods, earthquakes, and demographic shifts.

Together, they form a quiet but critical axis of long-duration infrastructure investing.

TAMIM Takeaway: Investing in What the Future Requires

At TAMIM, we aim to be ahead of the narrative and inside the theme. Sterling, Arrow, and Kajima may not command attention like Nvidia or Tesla, but they enable the world those companies are building.

Our process, grounded in data, refined by fundamental due diligence, and structured through disciplined risk management, has led us to invest in these three names. They are the embodiment of our investment philosophy: own what matters before the crowd realises it does.

And this is just the beginning.

Next week, we’ll be unveiling our new TAMIM Global Infrastructure Fund, built to take advantage of these secular trends and allow our investors to participate in the roll-out of the intelligent economy. Sign up for the webinar here.

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Disclaimer: Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ: STRL), Arrow Electronics (NYSE: ARW) and Kajima Corporation (TSE: 1812) are held in TAMIM Portfolios as at date of article publication. Holdings can change substantially at any given time.