Computacenter has raised its profit forecast for the 2026 financial year following strong demand driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The UK-based technology reseller, which supplies hardware and software for data centres and large IT operations, reported an “excellent” third-quarter performance, primarily fueled by orders from hyperscale and neocloud customers focused on building AI capabilities.
The company now expects adjusted pre-tax profit to reach at least £425 million, well above the £387.1 million previously forecast by analysts. This upgrade reflects a surge in demand across both the United Kingdom and the United States, where companies are investing heavily in the data centre infrastructure necessary to support AI workloads.
Computacenter’s order backlog hit a record £12.6 billion at the end of September, up from £9.3 billion three months earlier, underscoring a robust pipeline of future opportunities. Its shares rose 13.7 percent to £51.90 on Monday, increasing the stock’s year-to-date gains to around 75 percent.
Since its founding 45 years ago, Computacenter has grown into one of the few publicly traded UK companies with significant exposure to the AI boom. The firm became a member of the FTSE 100 index in June, reflecting its rising market prominence. It provides a broad range of services, including sourcing IT equipment—from laptops to microchips and networking components—and professional consulting to help clients design and implement technology solutions.
Notable recent contracts include partnerships with Meta and xAI to develop large-scale data centres, as well as a €50 million agreement with a European neocloud customer to build a sovereign data centre in Germany. While the professional services segment showed revenue growth in the third quarter, it partly offset a decline in managed services during the same period.
The strong quarterly results follow a strong first half of the year, when Computacenter’s pre-tax profit nearly doubled to £142.6 million compared with the previous year, driven by robust data centre demand. North America accounted for 60 percent of adjusted operating profit in that period, reflecting the firm’s strategic focus on the region since its initial entry in 2018, further strengthened by two acquisitions completed this year.
Despite the positive operational momentum, Computacenter’s share price has declined roughly 20 percent in the past two weeks amid investor concerns regarding the sustainability of AI-related spending. Market worries center on the financial stability of the highly leveraged neocloud companies, some of which are key clients.
Chief Executive Mike Norris acknowledged the difficulty of fully shielding the business from potential market downturns but highlighted efforts to broaden the company’s customer base. “If people said that the king has no clothes and this [AI] is all over, it would be painful and I can’t deny that. But I can ease that pain by having more and more customers,” he said.
Analysts remain cautiously optimistic, noting that the company’s sizable revenue backlog suggests ongoing strong performance in 2027 despite nervous market sentiment around AI capital expenditures. “Forward-looking indicators continue to support robust trading,” said analysts at Jefferies.