US Enterprise Hardware and Networking "Earnings Preview: Expect in-line ..."

Research evidence excerpt

US Enterprise Hardware and Networking "Earnings Preview: Expect in-line ..."

Global Research

18 May 2026ab

US Enterprise Hardware and Networking Equities

AmericasEarnings Preview: Expect in-line prints to slight

beats in the April qtr but a more difficult H2:26 Technology

David Vogt

Analyst

david.vogt@ubs.com

Strong AI demand but memory backdrop impacts NT margins and H2 demand +1-212-713 4296

Strong AI demand and a pull-forward in PC, server/storage as customers front-load Andrew Spinola

purchases given the share increase in memory costs supports solid April results generally Analyst

across the board. However, increased risk of demand destruction owing to OEMs sharply andrew.spinola@ubs.com

increasing prices to manage gross margin could lead to disappointing second half of the +1-212-713 3766

year outlooks. Specifically, we see increased risk that HP Inc formally trims the FY26 EPS Brian Luke

guide following a soft reiteration last quarter, albeit with commentary suggesting the Associate Analyst

low-end was prudent. Furthermore, we expect NetApp's initial FY27 EPS guidance brian.luke@ubs.com

range to fall below the VA Cons of $8.59 reflecting flattish product gross margin. Finally, +1-212-713 3819

we see risk to Everpure's FY27 gross margin outlook that suggests F1Q is the trough and

should increase sequentially through the year. Therefore, given steep increases in

memory and other component pricing, we see risk to the operating margin outlook.

HP Inc: We expect in-line PC rev driven by customers ordering ahead of higher

memory costs as well as strategic actions (pricing, LTAs, product

reconfigurations) taken by the company. Furthermore, Print margin of >18%,

towards the high-end of the long-term guide (16%-19%), should mitigate the

impact of memory costs.