Hardware was supposed to be the boring part of tech. Then Dell surged 57% last week, Lenovo doubled in May, and HP caught the wave too. Morgan Stanley called it “one of the most impressive [hardware] quarters we’ve seen,” as the sector that spent years playing second fiddle to software suddenly has Wall Street’s full attention.
- Dell posted an 88% revenue surge and raised its AI server forecast to ~$60B — bubbling over optimism to Lenovo and the broader industry.
- The boom is reaching consumer desks, too — HP saw AI PC sales climb to 44% of its mix and expects them to reach up to 70% next year.
Double-edged fortune: That said, hardware’s hottest moment comes with an unexpected bill. Surging demand for memory in server farms has tightened supply for consumer devices, with HP warning that margins will hit a low point in Q4 and IDC flagging the shortage could stretch into 2027. Qualcomm is already hedging, launching a $300 Snapdragon C laptop platform to keep budget devices viable as costs climb. The hardware renaissance is real, but navigating the cost squeeze is what separates the winners.
