Move Over, Micron: Expert Predicts New Industry Will Soon Have Microsoft, Amazon, and Data Centers Over a Barrel - 24/7 Wall St.

What the report says

24/7 Wall St. reported that Matt Smith, a limited partner at Chronometer Partners, has warned that natural gas could become a major constraint for the artificial intelligence data-center buildout within roughly six months or more. Speaking on the Invest Like the Best podcast, Smith compared the risk to the recent memory-chip tightness that affected cloud companies, arguing that large technology “hyperscalers” such as Microsoft and Amazon may be underestimating exposure to gas supply and pricing.

The article frames the issue as a potential shift in bargaining power toward energy producers, pipeline operators and liquefied natural gas exporters. It highlights EQT, Expand Energy and Antero Resources among gas producers, while pointing to Williams Companies and Cheniere Energy as important infrastructure and export players. 24/7 Wall St. also notes that some of these stocks have already risen, which could limit further upside, and that natural gas-related ETFs such as UNG and BOIL carry risks tied to futures-market structure, leverage and volatility.

Smith’s thesis is presented as a forecast rather than a settled outcome. The report says natural gas could become a much larger cost for data-center operators if AI demand continues to accelerate and power availability tightens. It also says he is skeptical that fuel cells can be deployed at the necessary scale without sufficient gas supply.

For context, the article cites broader supply-demand concerns, including expected growth in U.S. LNG export capacity and rising data-center electricity consumption. The potential significance is that energy availability, not only chips or computing hardware, may become a central factor in AI expansion costs and investment decisions.