AI complexity is reshaping demand for infrastructure, security and services, according to CDW’s chair and chief executive Christine Leahy, who highlighted the shift during the company’s second fiscal‑quarter 2026 briefing.
Growth driven by AI‑related spending
CDW, based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, reported net sales of $6.6 billion for the quarter, a 10 percent rise from the same period a year earlier. The company tied the increase to continued customer investment in modernizing infrastructure, expanding cloud footprints and boosting AI readiness. Leahy said the biggest AI infrastructure moves are still coming from CDW’s largest clients, mirroring earlier technology cycles where hardware upgrades precede broader services and software adoption.
“As AI adds complexity across the technology environment, that need has never been greater,” she said. “Customers increasingly recognize that AI is not a point solution. It’s an architectural challenge.” She noted that AI workloads now span on‑premises data centers, public clouds, edge devices and hybrid settings, demanding integrated security, governance and risk management.
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Hardware, cloud and security see double‑digit gains
Across CDW’s full‑stack offering, modernization and AI readiness helped lift hardware revenue by 10 percent, with server, storage and networking segments all posting healthy double‑digit growth. Cloud and security divisions also benefited, as enterprises modernize applications, evaluate AI tools and optimize hybrid architectures. Security revenue and gross‑profit margins rose in double digits, reflecting heightened spending on protecting more sophisticated AI‑driven systems.
In the health‑care sector, AI‑enabled claims management and clinical documentation drove additional demand. Leahy emphasized that the company’s focus on data integration and lifecycle support positions CDW to capture opportunities as organizations move from AI experimentation to pilots, then to implementation and scaling.
“We’re at the point where we are taking use cases that are proven and working in various industries and scaling them in repeatable offerings for customers,” she explained. “AI is part and parcel of most of what we’re selling, from the hardware itself to the software implementation, and certainly in the services that we’re bringing to bear.”
Customers are also scrutinizing return‑on‑investment calculations, becoming more deliberate about AI analysis. “Which, of course, plays to our strength with the variety of services and analysis and the solutions that we bring to bear,” she said.
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From a practical standpoint, the surge in AI complexity means midsize firms will likely lean on CDW’s expertise to stitch together disparate technologies, ensuring that data flows securely across on‑premises and cloud environments. This could translate into more predictable budgeting for IT leaders who previously struggled with piecemeal solutions.
Leahy concluded that the adoption curve for AI will be multi‑year, requiring readiness, deployment, integration, optimization and ongoing operations. “Services is in every single component of those requirements,” she said, emphasizing the company’s full‑stack approach.
AI complexity will broaden across all industries, with hardware, cloud, security and data‑foundation services continuing to benefit from the added intricacy. The company’s positioning as an orchestrator of technology stacks aims to keep it relevant as enterprises manage the evolving AI environment.
