Steve Eisman, of “The Big Short” fame, is bullish on infrastructure stocks after studying the industry for the past two years, and here are the companies he likes the most. Investors who raised money and profited from the subprime mortgage crisis grew more favorable toward infrastructure companies as government spending increased. Eisman, a senior portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, said he has narrowed his investment portfolio down to 80 stocks. “Of those 80, I would say about 30 are very interesting. The other 50 are not very interesting right now,” he told Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast. Among the stocks Mr. Eisman passed on were residential solar companies, which had already performed strongly during the pandemic as major beneficiaries of zero interest rates. But as interest rates remain high, these stocks have stalled, Eisman said. Instead, Eisman likes solar panel companies that sell to utilities, which he says are doing well from a fundamentals perspective. Eaton Corporation, which is involved in the electrification of factories, is also one of the stocks that is attractive. Although Mr. Eisman currently owns no stock, he said he has done a lot of research on the company. His stock is up 36% this year after rising 53% in 2023. ETN 1Y Mountain Eaton Corporation PLC The widely followed investor also revealed that it likes CRH PLC, a materials company headquartered in Ireland but with 75% of its business in the US. Last year he was up 73% and this year he’s up about 24%. Eisman said he started buying after both companies relisted in the U.S. in September. CRH 1Y Mountain CRH PLC The Iceman became a subprime mortgage lender before the 2008 financial crisis, as chronicled in Michael Lewis’ The Big Short and the subsequent Oscar-winning film based on the book. He gained fame by betting on — Click here to listen to the original podcast.
