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Analysts expect AI-enabled personal computers (AI PCs) to help spark PC sales to bounce back in 2024 with the need to replace an aging installed base of commercial PCs with PC manufacturers planning to roll out AI PCs to grab the growing opportunities in this category.

Research firm IDC predicts PC shipments will rise 3.4% in 2024 after falling 16.6% in 2022 and 13.8% in 2023 while the research firm, Canalys, indicates that the AI PCs sector is set to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 64% between now and 2027 and make up around 60% of all PCs shipped that year.

What Are "AI PCs"?

“AI PCs” are AI-enabled personal computers that come with chips capable of running large-language models and apps directly on the device, instead of the cloud, allowing for AI to be run locally on the computers themselves and being able to be used whenever and wherever – even without an internet connection.

What's Unfolding

As Alex Cho, president of HP's Personal Systems unit puts it, a computing revolution is coming with AI PCs kicking off a decade of "supercycle" growth in PC upgrades and innovation in the PC market as a result of the introduction of neural processing units (NPUs) in the latest chip designs that will start in the second half of the year as more AI PCs hit the market and represent an inflection point for the PC industry.

The AI-enabled PC Portfolio

The AI-Capable PC Stocks Index, which originally contained 4 Canadian and/or American stock exchange-traded AI-enabled PC hardware manufacturers along with 2 suppliers of the minichip NPUs, has been replaced with a pure-play portfolio of just the 4 computer manufacturers themselves.

Below are the constituents in the portfolio with their stock performances last week, in descending order, and any recent news, commentary, and/or analysis on each company:.

1. Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL): UP 4.6% last week
   • Latest News, Commentary  and/or Analysis:
     • Dell's New XPS Lineup: Futuristic Design, with Built-in AI
2. Lenovo Group Limited (LNVGY): UP 3.0% last week
   • Latest News, Commentary and/or Analysis:
     • Lenovo Unleashes AI-Powered Creativity and Productivity Devices and Solutions at CES 2024
3. Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI): UP 2.3% last week
   • Latest News, Commentary and/or Analysis:
     • MSI Launches New AI Gaming Desktop
4. HP, Inc. (HPQ): DOWN 0.5% last week
   • Latest News, Commentary and/or Analysis:
     • Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine HP?

Summary

On average the above 4 stocks were UP 2.6% last week. It will be interesting to see the extent to which these stocks appreciate (or not) as the sale of their AI PCs take hold.

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