Shares of AAON Inc (AAON), a heating and cooling solutions company, surged 5% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, despite reporting second-quarter results that fell short of analyst expectations. The company's resilience in the face of disappointing numbers appears to be driven by investor optimism about its future prospects, particularly in high-growth sectors.

AAON's Q2 revenue remained flat year-over-year at $311.6 million, missing analyst estimates of $325 million. The company's adjusted earnings per share of $0.22 also fell short of the expected $0.33. CEO Matthew Tobolski acknowledged that the results "fall short of our expectations," attributing the underperformance primarily to disruptions from a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system rollout, which slowed production at key facilities.

However, investors seem to be looking past the short-term setbacks and focusing on AAON's growth potential. The company reported significant strength in its data center segment, with BasX-branded product sales for data centers up 127% in Q2. Additionally, orders from national accounts for AAON-branded products rose by 163% year-over-year, now representing 35% of AAON-branded orders in the first half of the year. The company also highlighted a strategic partnership with Applied Digital to supply advanced cooling solutions for AI-driven data centers, signaling potential for future growth in this high-demand sector.

Looking ahead, AAON management expects production levels and margins to improve as ERP-related disruptions ease and recent price increases begin to flow through results. The company's backlog stands at $1.12 billion, up 71.9% year-on-year, suggesting strong demand for its products. While challenges remain, including ongoing ERP implementation and market conditions, investors appear optimistic about AAON's ability to capitalize on opportunities in data centers and national accounts, driving the stock higher despite the Q2 misses.