TTM Technologies (NASDAQ: TTMI) and Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) both offer investors distinct pathways into the fast-growing AI infrastructure market, but their financial profiles tell very different stories.

TTM Technologies manufactures advanced printed circuit boards, substrates, and electronic interconnect solutions that directly support data-center and networking applications across high-performance computing environments.

Applied Digital, by contrast, develops and operates large-scale data centers purpose-built for AI workloads and high-performance computing, with an expanding portfolio of campuses across the United States.

The global AI infrastructure market provides a compelling backdrop for both companies, with Mordor Intelligence projecting growth at a 14.89% compound annual growth rate from 2026 through 2031.

TTMI’s Data Center and Networking business segment accounted for 40% of second quarter 2026 sales and surged 91% year over year, driven by customers aggressively expanding their AI data-center footprints.

Management expects the data-center end market to more than double in 2026, with that segment’s share of total sales projected to climb to 49% by the third quarter, signaling sustained momentum.

A major near-term catalyst is the company’s N+M asymmetric PCB technology, which is entering volume production, with management expecting approximately $600 million of N+M revenues in the second half of 2026 alone.

TTMI’s second-quarter revenues rose 37% to $1 billion, adjusted EBITDA reached $166.8 million, non-GAAP earnings per share hit a record $0.99, and book-to-bill came in at a robust 1.49.

The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to approximately $4.4 billion and is targeting 15% to 20% organic revenue growth in both 2027 and 2028, underpinning a strong multi-year growth narrative.

The planned $1.1 billion Epiq acquisition further broadens TTMI’s technology portfolio, adding AI-enabled software-defined radios and space-compute technologies alongside European PCB capabilities from the STG and ILFA deals.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TTMI’s 2026 earnings per share stands at $4.82, implying a 95.93% year-over-year increase and reflecting broad analyst confidence in the company’s earnings trajectory.

Applied Digital’s financial picture is considerably more strained, with the company reporting a $250.3 million net loss attributable to common stockholders in fiscal 2026 and cash used in investing activities surging to $2.9 billion.

Customer concentration remains a serious structural risk for APLD, with a single high-performance computing customer representing 59% of continuing-operations revenues in fiscal 2026, while the HPC segment served only three customers in total.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for APLD’s fiscal 2027 loss is pegged at $1.09 per share, representing a wider loss than the 91-cent-per-share loss reported in fiscal 2026, suggesting the path to profitability remains distant.

As of May 31, 2026, APLD had 1.41 gigawatts of contracted critical IT load across five AI campuses, representing approximately $36 billion of base-term contracted revenues, which provides some longer-term revenue visibility.

APLD’s partnership with Macquarie could provide up to $5 billion of capital and potentially support more than 2 gigawatts of AI data-center development, offering a substantial growth runway if execution risks are managed.

Over the past year, TTMI surged 117.5% compared with APLD’s 15% gain, with TTMI’s stronger performance reflecting diversified end markets, improving margins, and a rising backlog of new program opportunities.

On valuation, TTMI trades at a forward price-to-sales multiple of 2.41 times, well below APLD’s 7.36 times and TTMI’s own one-year median of 2.85 times, making it a more attractively priced entry point for investors.

TTMI currently carries a Zacks Rank of 1, designated as Strong Buy, while APLD holds a Zacks Rank of 5, designated as Strong Sell, reflecting the sharp divergence in near-term earnings outlooks between the two companies.

For investors seeking AI infrastructure exposure with near-term earnings growth, improving margins, and a more reasonable valuation, TTM Technologies presents a notably stronger risk-reward profile than Applied Digital at this stage.