Deepwater Management Managing Partner Gene Munster predicts a major enterprise and consumer hardware refresh cycle beginning in 2027, driven by resource-intensive artificial intelligence applications that demand far greater memory capacity.
Highlighting tech stocks Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK), and Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC), Munster framed these hardware and storage vendors as primary beneficiaries as local computer systems struggle to run advanced AI tools smoothly.
Heavy AI Strains Consumer Laptops
Munster’s industry forecast stems directly from practical testing of advanced software tools. Deepwater’s in-house AI guru Doug Clinton recently spent time “pounding on Grok’s Build (command line version of Claude Code and OpenAI Codex) last weekend.”
Although Clinton found the platform’s overall results to be “impressive,” Munster pointed out that running such tools locally places an extraordinary burden on current hardware systems.
He specifically characterized the command-line AI software as “a memory hog as evidence by his laptop shutting down,” demonstrating that existing commercial laptops are not equipped to support intensive local AI workflows.
Good news for $AAPL, $HPQ, $SNDK, $WDC.
— Gene Munster (@munster_gene) July 20, 2026
Deepwater's in-house AI guru @dougclinton was pounding on Grok's Build (command line version of Claude Code and OpenAI Codex) last weekend, and while the results were impressive, its a memory hog as evidence by his laptop shutting down.…
‘The Writing is on the Wall’ for Unified Memory
As corporate and consumer AI models grow increasingly sophisticated, current memory configurations face severe operational bottlenecks. Munster explained that hardware infrastructure must evolve rapidly to prevent system failures and handle heavy software loads effectively.
“The writing is on the wall,” Munster cautioned regarding the upcoming technological shift. “In CY27 and beyond we will start to see an enterprise and consumer hardware upgrade cycle driven in part by the need for more unified memory.”
Market Beneficiaries of the Upcoming Upgrade Cycle
Ultimately, Munster views this hardware bottleneck as a significant market catalyst, opening his analysis with “Good news for $AAPL,$HPQ, $SNDK,$WDC.”
As businesses and consumers find their existing laptops overwhelmed by advanced software, demand will inevitably shift toward next-generation devices equipped with expanded unified memory.
This transition signals a key structural growth phase for personal computing and memory chip makers alike over the coming years.
How Have Munster’s Top Memory Picks Performed?
| Stock | 1-Month Performance | YTD Performance | 6-Month Performance |
| Apple | 9.59% | 20.13% | 54.65% |
| HP | 3.06% | 8.71% | -3.35% |
| SanDisk | -36.33% | 485.96% | 3196.87% |
| Western Digital | -34.68% | 182.94% | 616.79% |
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
