When St. Louis Fed chief Alberto Musalem and Dallas Fed’s Lorie Logan both pointed to more rate hikes ahead, the message was simple. Money is not cheap and capital will stay picky. That puts more focus on real infrastructure behind AI, like the switches, routers and server builders that keep model training running. This article walks through three picks from the AI hardware screener worth a closer look.

The stocks covered below are just a sample. The full AI networking and servers screen surfaced 22 more companies with equally compelling narratives that are not discussed in this article. To identify your own highest conviction hardware plays, head straight into the AI – Networking and Servers screener

Arista Networks is one of the clearest pure plays on the AI, Networking and Servers theme, supplying Ethernet switches and software that plug directly into GPU heavy clusters and turning that technical role into a large scale commercial business.

Arista Networks develops data driven client to cloud networking solutions, with all of its US$10.5b in revenue coming from computer networks, anchored by AI ready data center switches and its EOS software, and the stock carries a market value of about US$232.3b.

“Accelerated adoption of AI and machine learning workloads continues to increase demand for high-bandwidth, low-latency networking infrastructure, and Arista Networks is now guiding AI fabrics revenue of at least US$3.5b to US$3.6b in 2026 with Etherlink already used by more than 100 customers, which could support multi-year revenue growth and earnings expansion.”

The real swing factor is how one emerging pressure around future AI data center buildouts ultimately feeds through to demand and long term margin resilience.

That pressure point is exactly what the full narrative for Arista Networks unpacks, helping separate short term noise from a more realistic view of where AI fabric demand and margins could be heading.

Lumentum Holdings supplies the optical engines that let AI servers talk to each other at high speed, with photonics products such as lasers and optical modules that link directly into cloud and AI/ML data-center networks, generating US$3.0b through its Integrated Enterprise segment and carrying a market value around US$83.3b.

Lumentum matters for this AI networking screen because its lasers and optical modules sit inside the high bandwidth links that move data between switches, routers and GPU heavy racks, making future demand for these components a central question for investors.

“AI‑infrastructure demand may be a one‑time buildout rather than a lasting growth curve: If hyperscaler spending on training clusters peaks and inference networking does not fill the gap, cloud optics orders could decelerate.”

What really moves the needle is how a single shift in AI data-center spending patterns feeds through to pricing power and long term margins.

That spending pivot is exactly what the full narrative for Lumentum Holdings unpacks. It shows where AI optics demand could be stalling, accelerating or quietly masking new upside potential.

Dell Technologies blends its long-running PC franchise with a fast growing infrastructure arm that supplies AI ready servers, rack scale systems and data center networking gear. The Infrastructure Solutions Group generates about US$94.5b, the Client Solutions Group around US$55.6b, and the stock is valued near US$302.3b.

Dell Technologies provides exposure to the nuts and bolts that power AI, from PowerEdge servers to rack scale systems and networking that link GPUs together across data centers and edge sites. That context makes the next datapoint worth paying attention to.

“Dell Technologies is experiencing accelerating demand for AI servers and data center solutions as enterprises globally increase investments in AI and machine learning workloads, supported by more than US$130b of AI server orders in the past 12 months, a US$95b AI backlog and a pipeline that is multiples of backlog.”

What happens to earnings power depends on how one unseen pressure around AI system margins and product mix plays out from here.

That margin pressure question is exactly what the full narrative for Dell Technologies tackles. It maps where AI server demand, pricing power and product mix could be quietly decoupling from consensus expectations.

Seeking Alternatives Before The Crowd?

Fresh ideas often move first. Stocks that are already building quiet momentum can be moving quickly by the time headlines catch up, so consider screening under-the-radar names and acting according to your own strategy.

• Track cash-rich, beaten-down opportunities using the 29 high quality undervalued stocks while the gap between business quality and market pricing still appears wide enough to evaluate a potential entry.

• Look for income-oriented stocks before yields change as more investors rotate into them, and review the 5 dividend fortresses for payouts that may help support your portfolio cash flow.

• Explore companies connected to AI infrastructure and review the 54 AI infrastructure stocks while these enablers of compute demand remain relatively under the radar.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com