Bernstein’s Top AI Hardware Picks: SMCI, AAPL, or DELL - Which Stock Dominates?

Wall Street's betting big on AI infrastructure—and Bernstein just placed its chips on three hardware giants.

The AI Gold Rush's Real Winners

Forget software—the real money's in the picks and shovels. Super Micro Computer leads with blistering server growth, Apple's silicon pivot fuels its ecosystem play, while Dell leverages enterprise relationships to move serious hardware volume.

Hardware's Harsh Reality

These companies actually build things—racks, chips, data centers—while most AI startups burn cash dreaming about algorithms. Bernstein's analysis cuts through the hype, targeting firms with revenue streams that don't rely on venture capital fairy tales.

Of course, analysts get paid to pick stocks—whether they're right is your problem.

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Among the companies he covered, Newman stated that Apple (AAPL), Dell Technologies (DELL), Seagate (STX), and SanDisk (SNDK) will all be winners in the “intelligence revolution” and assigned each of them with a “Buy” rating.

On the other hand, he gave a “Hold” rating to Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Western Digital (WDC), IBM (IBM), HP Enterprise (HPE), and HP Inc. (HPQ).

Apple Is Well Positioned to Reap AI Rewards

Newman described Apple as a key player in the AI-driven “intelligence revolution.” He highlighted that the recent remedies regarding Alphabet’s (GOOGL) dominance in search have reduced a major downside risk for the stock. At the same time, Apple has the ability to integrate Gemini’s AI more effectively across its product ecosystem.

He set a price target of $290 on AAPL stock, implying 22.5% upside potential. His price target is based on 32x the projected 2027 earnings per share (EPS) of $9.03.

Dell Has Out-Executed its Peers

According to Newman, Dell has consistently outperformed competitors and is expected to continue gaining market share. He sees significant growth opportunities for Dell in AI servers and storage and believes DELL stock is “very inexpensive” compared to its growth potential.

He assigned a new Street-High price target of $175 on DELL, which implies 38% upside potential from current levels. This price target is based on 14x his estimated 2028 EPS of $12.59.

SMCI’s Growth Is Decelerating Sharply

While acknowledging Super Micro Computer as one of the most prominent growth stories in the AI server and hardware space, Newman cautioned that its growth is slowing rapidly. He views the company’s guidance as overly ambitious given current market dynamics. Additionally, he flagged SMCI’s cash FLOW issues, which make its valuation appear less attractive despite its past momentum and AI-related opportunities.

He assigned a $46 price target on Super Micro stock, implying just 1.4% upside potential. His valuation is based on a 16x multiple of estimated FY27 EPS, above the stock’s 5-year average of 13.5x.

Here’s how these stocks perform on TipRanks’ Stock Comparison Tool: