Is Johnson Controls International plc (JCI) Benefiting From Increased Focus on AI

Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:45 AM 2 min read

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Growth Strategy” second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US equities significantly rallied in the second quarter, with the S&P 500 returning 10.9%. As the risk-on sentiment took hold, the benchmark Russell Midcap Growth Index advanced a market-leading 18.2%. Growth stocks led across market caps, outperforming their value counterparts. In this environment, the strategy outperformed the benchmark, driven by strong performance from the “mid cap plus” segment that the Strategy focuses on and solid stock selection in IT, industrials, and financials. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, ClearBridge Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI). Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) engages in engineering, manufacturing, commissioning, and retrofitting building products and systems. The one-month return of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was 0.91%, and its shares gained 46.98% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 16, 2025, Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) stock closed at $106.96 per share, with a market capitalization of $69.993 billion.

ClearBridge Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

"Several of the Strategy’s industrials holdings also continue to benefit from the growing focus on AI and the underlying infrastructure investments required to support it. Vertiv delivers power and thermal management systems critical for data center operations, while Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) has a leading position in commercial HVAC for data centers, with a data center business larger than the next two competitors combined."

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 75 hedge fund portfolios held Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) at the end of the second quarter, which was 59 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.