02:51 AM EDT, 05/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Barclays maintained Veolia Environnement's (VIE.PA) overweight rating, with a price target of 38.50 euros, saying the French water and waste management company is "positively exposed"to rising cooling demands of artificial intelligence-related data centers.

"On the data-[center] cooling angle, Veolia looks increasingly well placed to benefit from the next phase of build-out, reinforcing our positive view (OW). As cooling, water and permitting constraints become more binding, Veolia's positioning appears increasingly relevant,"according to a Thursday report. "Recent messaging also suggests innovation is becoming a more tangible and monetizable growth lever, with management now targeting >EUR1bn of annual revenues by 2030 from 'AI Industries,'including data [centers] and semiconductors, up from EUR560m in 2025A."

In a report on data center cooling and water use, the research firm forecasts that cooling systems will account for 10% to 15% of a data center shell's capital cost, with the share expected to expand amid the rollout of more advanced liquid cooling platforms. Analysts added that water treatment will be "increasingly important"throughout the AI stack as well.

"Crucially, this is not just a volume story, but a solutions story: Veolia's integrated water, energy and waste offering looks well aligned with the sector's evolving needs, while its new Data Center Resource 360 platform provides a credible route to [commercializing] the cooling, water-efficiency and social-acceptability solutions that are becoming increasingly important for AI-led data-[center] development,"Barclays said, noting Veolia's recent partnership with Amazon [AMZ.F] to reduce water consumption and advance water reuse at its planned data centers in Mississippi, US.