A working theory of who captures the AI capex cycle. Four thematic pillars (top-down) plus two name-level views (bottom-up).
Picks and shovels. NVDA, AMD, AVGO, TSM, ASML.
Customers paying for it. MSFT, GOOGL, META, AMZN.
Constraint nobody priced in. CEG, VST, NEE, GEV.
Where productivity shows up. CRM, NOW, ADBE, ROK.
160 companies tagged by exposure (direct / high / mid / low) across four scenarios. The full universe.
April 2026 modest-scenario picks with KPI grids, ratio tables, and scenario analysis.