Buy These 3 Pure-Play Server Stocks to Benefit From AI Data Center Boom

The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is driving one of the largest infrastructure investment cycles the technology industry has seen in years. While semiconductor companies remain major beneficiaries, the opportunity extends well beyond chips. AI workloads require powerful servers, high-density computing racks, advanced cooling technologies and networking infrastructure, putting server makers in a strong position to capitalize on the ongoing data center expansion.

Spending by the largest cloud providers remains a key catalyst. Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta Platforms are expected to spend between $720 billion and $745 billion on capital expenditures in 2026. A significant portion of this investment is likely to support AI infrastructure, including new data centers.

This spending wave is creating a favorable demand environment for companies that build and deploy servers capable of handling AI workloads. Among server makers, Super Micro Computer, Inc. SMCI, Dell Technologies Inc. DELL and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company HPE appear well-positioned to benefit from rising AI data center investments.

As AI models become larger and inference demand grows, data centers will need more powerful servers, denser racks, faster networking and better cooling systems. Super Micro's strength in rack-scale and liquid-cooled AI systems, Dell Technologies' rapidly expanding AI server business and Hewlett Packard Enterprise's combination of compute and networking capabilities make all three well-positioned to convert rising AI infrastructure demand into revenues and larger order pipelines.

SMCI: Rides on AI Server and Liquid-Cooling Demand

Super Micro has emerged as one of the key server suppliers benefiting from the rapid growth of generative AI and accelerated computing. The company offers high-performance GPU (graphics processing unit) servers, rack-scale systems and liquid-cooling solutions designed for demanding AI workloads.

One of Super Micro's biggest advantages is its Data Center Building Block Solutions strategy. The approach combines servers, networking, power management and cooling technologies into integrated systems that can simplify data center deployment. This capability is becoming increasingly valuable as companies move from purchasing individual servers toward deploying complete AI computing racks.

Liquid cooling is another important growth opportunity for Super Micro. AI accelerators are becoming more powerful, but they also consume more electricity and generate considerably more heat. Traditional air cooling can become less efficient at very high computing densities. SMCI's expanding liquid-cooling portfolio gives customers an option to increase rack density while managing power and thermal requirements more effectively.

The growth opportunity is already showing up in Super Micro’s financial performance. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, its revenues soared 93% year over year to $11.12 billion, while non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) jumped 315% to $1.70. The company received new orders worth more than $60 billion in the fourth quarter alone and exited fiscal 2026 with a record backlog. Supermicro expects fiscal 2027 revenues between $65 billion and $72 billion compared with $39.06 billion in fiscal 2026.

Manufacturing expansion, a growing enterprise customer base and wider adoption of its rack-scale solutions should help SMCI capitalize on continued AI data center investments. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company’s fiscal 2027 revenues and EPS suggests year-over-year increases of 71.8% and 22%, respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

DELL: Benefits From Surging AI Server Orders

Dell Technologies has quickly become a major player in the AI-optimized server market. Its broad infrastructure portfolio gives customers access to servers, storage, networking and services, making DELL well-positioned for organizations looking for a single technology partner to support large AI deployments.

Demand for Dell Technologies’ AI infrastructure has been robust. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the company booked $24.4 billion of AI orders, delivered $16.1 billion of AI server revenues and ended with a $51.3 billion AI backlog. Following the strong start to the year, DELL increased its fiscal 2027 AI server revenue expectation to $60 billion, highlighting how rapidly AI infrastructure is becoming a larger contributor to the company’s overall business. Overall, the company’s total revenues climbed 88% year over year to $43.84 billion in the first quarter, while non-GAAP EPS jumped nearly 213%.

Dell Technologies should also benefit from its global scale, supply-chain capabilities and relationships with leading technology providers such as Google Cloud and Microsoft. As AI clusters become larger and more complicated, customers increasingly need complete rack-scale solutions instead of individual servers.

DELL’s ability to combine compute, storage, networking and deployment services should help it capture more spending from hyperscalers, enterprises and AI service providers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s fiscal 2027 revenues and EPS suggests year-over-year increases of 54.6% and 86%, respectively.

HPE: Gains From AI Systems, Servers and Networking

Hewlett Packard Enterprise offers another attractive way to gain exposure to the AI data center buildout. HPE combines servers with storage, networking, private cloud technologies and services, giving it a broad role in modern infrastructure projects.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Cloud & AI revenues increased 22.9% year over year to $7.7 billion, while server revenues jumped 32.7% to $5.5 billion. The company is benefiting from strong customer spending on infrastructure modernization and AI. HPE also ended the quarter with a record AI Systems backlog of $5.9 billion, including $1.8 billion in new AI Systems orders. The company’s total revenues climbed 40% year over year to $10.7 billion in the second quarter, while non-GAAP EPS jumped nearly 108%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is simultaneously strengthening its AI technology portfolio. Its next-generation offerings include NVIDIA Corporation’s NVDA Vera Rubin-based rack-scale systems, high-density GPU servers and liquid-cooling capabilities designed for increasingly demanding AI workloads. Its combination of compute and data center networking could help HPE secure larger infrastructure projects as customers seek integrated solutions for building AI factories.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s fiscal 2026 revenues and EPS suggests year-over-year increases of 31.7% and 76.8%, respectively. HPE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Price and Consensus

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company price-consensus-chart | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Quote

Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here

The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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