Companies like Dell and HP Inc are benefitting from the new trend of work-from-home that seems to be sweeping the world. As the coronavirus pandemic accelerates in various continents, lockdown rules and social distancing norms are leading to more and more people staying at home. Whether it is office-goers or students, working and learning from home is becoming a way of life. This has led to strong demand for hardware and devices like computers and printers. The makers of such hardware are benefitting as a result.
Stock performances of the best computer hardware stocks
Dell stock is up 28.32% since the beginning of 2020 and up 12.41% in the past month. HPQ stock (HP Inc), on the other hand, is down 7.36% year-to-date while up 7.3% in the past one month. Microsoft, even though not a pure hardware company, is up about 30% since January 2, 2020, but marginally down at 0.71% for the past month. Apple is, perhaps, the most well-known stock among the sector. It is up 53.87% year-to-date and marginally up 0.81% for the past month.
Laptop sales surge amid the pandemic
HP, during its Q32020 earnings call, disclosed that its laptop sales had surged 30% in the third quarter. Even though revenue was down 20% year-on-year, mainly due to declining commercial printer business and less office activity, the strong home devices performances softened the blow. Supply chain challenges faced by the company amidst lockdowns and the outbreak of the Coronavirus also hurt sales.
Dell also saw a surge in the demand for laptops. In fact, the demand in some cases was so steep, that it ended up creating bottlenecks. School districts have been scrambling to equip students and staff with devices that can be used from home. This has led to delayed shipments. In some parts of the world, gaming laptops are also playing a key role in driving growth in this segment. As people find more time on their hands, gaming as an activity has seen an uptick.
