Shares of AI server and PC hardware makers are rallying at midday Thursday. Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI | SMCI Price Prediction) leads the group, up 10% to $41. Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) is tracking toward $500 for the first time, up 3%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) is higher by 5%, and HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) has added 3%.
Lenovo Earnings Fuel a Read-Through Rally
The catalyst for today’s moves across server companies is a blowout quarter from Chinese peer Lenovo. For the April to June period, Lenovo reported revenue of $26.94 billion, up 43% year over year, versus Wall Street expectations of $22.44 billion. Adjusted net income rose 176% year over year to $1.1 billion, topping the $1 billion mark for the first time.
AI-related revenue climbed 60% to $9.3 billion, accounting for 35% of total revenue. The number investors zeroed in on: the AI server pipeline surged to $54 billion, up 157% sequentially.
CEO Yuanqing Yang said AI is emerging as a clear growth engine across every business group. Because Lenovo competes directly with every name on this list, a beat of that magnitude signals genuine end-market demand across the group. Strength spanned AI infrastructure and PCs, which is why the move reaches HPQ as well as the server names. Lenovo trades in Hong Kong and is not a US-listed idea. Its 215% year to date move on the LNVGY ADR shows how the market is repricing this cycle.
Super Micro Extends Its Post-Earnings Run
Super Micro is layering the Lenovo read-through onto its own guide. On Aug. 11, the company reported Q4 FY26 revenue of $11.12 billion (up 93.2% YoY) and non-GAAP EPS of $1.70, with gross margin expanding to 17.5%. CEO Charles Liang cited more than $60 billion in new orders and a record backlog. The headline number for Wall Street was FY27 revenue guidance of $65 billion to $72 billion, versus Wall Street expectations of $53.3 billion. Analyst reaction has been mixed, with several notes flagging margin volatility even as the top-line guide reset the trajectory.
Dell, HPE, and HPQ: One Catalyst, Three Very Different Businesses
Dell’s Q1 FY27 posted revenue of $43.84 billion (up 87.5% YoY) with AI-optimized server revenue of $16.13 billion (up 757% YoY) and FY27 revenue guided to $165B to $169B.
HPE is the enterprise server, storage, and networking play. Its Q2 FY26 delivered revenue of $10.68 billion (up 40% YoY), with Networking at $2.69 billion (up 148.2% YoY) on the Juniper integration. HPQ is the PC and printing side, where Q2 FY26 revenue rose 9% to $14.41 billion and management raised FY26 non-GAAP EPS guidance to $2.90-$3.10.
Lenovo’s beat validates both the AI infrastructure side and the PC refresh side.
Group Scorecard
| Ticker | Today | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| SMCI | 10% | 28% |
| DELL | 3% | 288% |
| HPE | 5% | 147% |
| HPQ | 3% | 35% |
The year-to-date dispersion tells the story. The market is paying up for direct AI server exposure (Dell, HPE) and rewarding PC exposure (HPQ) at a much more modest multiple. Morgan Stanley on Thursday upgraded its US IT hardware industry view to In-Line from Cautious, citing refresh, pull-forward, and AI demand. Goldman Sachs has named Dell, HPE and NetApp as top US hardware stocks amid surging AI demand.
Super Micro has lagged peers as accounting issues dogged the company, so it will be interesting to see if this latest quarter provides an inflection point for the company’s shares.
The Risks Investors Should Not Ignore
These gains sit on top of enormous year-to-date runs. Component and memory cost inflation is a live margin threat for every server builder, the same pressure that pinched Cisco’s gross margin this week. A pipeline still has to convert to revenue. And one competitor’s quarter is one data point. Super Micro’s board is still conducting an independent review of export-control transactions, and FY26 operating cash flow was negative $(6.8) billion on working capital build.
What to Watch
Keep an eye on whether Dell holds the $500 handle into the close and whether Super Micro’s multi-day run finds a natural pause after today’s spike. As noted earlier, Super Micro is the biggest question mark in this group. It has lagged its peers due to accounting issues, but could rally if the market believes those are largely behind the company and Super Micro can ride massive AI-driven server growth.
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