Evercore ISI Recommends Six Core AI Hardware Stocks for H2 2026
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Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani listed six core AI hardware holdings for the second half, spanning storage, networking, and consumer electronics — all six have already posted triple-digit gains this year, and whether they deliver from here hinges on hyperscaler AI capex staying on track.
Why does storage top the list?
Seagate (STX) is up 207% year-to-date; Western Digital (WDC) is up 170%. Both are HDD leaders.
The thesis: AI training and inference are generating surging data volumes while HDD supply stays tight. This means → sellers hold pricing power, and margins have room to expand.
Seagate's Mozaic 3+ hard-drive platform has been qualified and is shipping at major hyperscalers; Mozaic 4+ is ramping at the two largest cloud providers, with 5+ expected to sample next year.
For Western Digital, the data growth driven by inference and agentic AI — AI systems that autonomously execute multi-step tasks — is an added catalyst. The company also plans to return all free cash flow to shareholders after R&D spending.
What role does each networking pick play?
Amphenol (APH) is positioned as the "default connectivity partner" for AI — copper or fiber, customers go through Amphenol either way. In plain terms = it wins regardless of which cable standard prevails. M&A integration skill plus diversified defense and industrial end-markets underpin the outperform case.
Arista Networks (ANET) is expected to deliver "outsized growth" over the next three to four years, driven by a broadening cloud-customer base, enterprise campus-network deployments, and an expansion into scale-up networking — the high-speed interconnect fabric linking chips inside AI clusters.
Cisco (CSCO) is the fiscal-year 2027 upside call (FY already started in July). This means → the network-equipment refresh cycle can deliver a second growth curve on top of the existing $7.5 billion AI revenue guide. Cisco's Silicon One programmable architecture — a chip-to-system full-stack offering — is seen as a "meaningful" competitive opportunity against Broadcom.
Why does Apple belong on an AI hardware list?
Daryanani frames Apple (AAPL) as the "consumer-grade AI gateway" — the iPhone is not just a phone but the terminal through which AI tools reach end users.
The upgrade cycle still has legs: pent-up demand, the iPhone 18 Pro cycle, and an expected foldable device all support volumes and average selling prices.
In plain terms = if the base-model iPhone 18 is delayed, the Pro benefits even more — upgraders have no cheaper option.
Services revenue has grown at double digits for 12 consecutive quarters, and roughly 90% of free cash flow is returned to shareholders via dividends and buybacks — a valuation floor.
All six have already surged — where is the risk?
Year-to-date gains across all six names are substantial. This reflects a market that has already priced in heavy AI-hardware optimism.
The analyst's logic chain rests on one critical assumption: hyperscaler AI capex continues on its current trajectory.
This means → if cloud providers scale back or delay AI investment, demand expectations for both storage and networking loosen simultaneously, and the current rally loses its forward support.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.