• An Evercore ISI analyst sees strong growth ahead for storage makers, networking providers and Apple

• Western Digital's stock has surged almost 170% so far this year.

Some of this year's best-performing technology stocks can keep charting gains, according to an analyst.

Among Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani's "top six stocks to own" for the second half of 2026 are storage makers and networking providers that have made investors a lot of money so far this year thanks to robust spending on artificial-intelligence hardware.

The strength in demand for hard disk drives has Daryanani and his team enthusiastic about future upside in shares of Seagate Technology $(STX)$ and Western Digital $(WDC)$, he said in a note to clients.

In his view, Seagate's pricing power stands to increase as the supply of storage products remains tight. The company also has "a two-year technology lead that is scaling" as its Mozaic 3+ hard-drive platform is qualified and in production at major hyperscalers. Meanwhile, its Mozaic 4+ is ramping with the world's two largest cloud service providers, he added. And the subsequent Mozaic 5+ platform is expected to start shipments to be qualified with customers later next year, he said.

The acceleration in data creation from inference and agentic AI should offer a further boost to shares of Western Digital, Daryanani said. He is also encouraged by Western Digital's plan to return all of its free cash flow to shareholders after it invests in research and development.

Western Digital's stock is up 170% so far this year, while Seagate's is ahead 207%.

Among data-center networking suppliers, Daryanani and his team pointed to Amphenol $(APH)$, Arista Networks (ANET) and Cisco Systems $(CSCO)$.

In his view, AI demand, Amphenol's strength in scaling acquisitions and its diversifying end markets put it in a position "to outperform the broader markets" this year and beyond, Daryanani said.

The company is a leader across copper and fiber AI connectors, Daryanani noted. Therefore, it is "the default connectivity partner" for customers debating between copper and fiber components, in his view.

Daryanani sees opportunity for Amphenol to benefit even beyond AI, as the company, which also makes interconnect systems and antenna solutions, serves the defense and industrial markets.

A diversifying base of cloud customers should help Arista Networks, Daryanani said, and he sees "outsized growth" for the company over the next three to four years. Part of that will also likely be driven by its campus networking architecture for enterprises coming online, he said.

The total addressable market for networking should continue growing meaningfully, Daryanani said, and Arista Networks is expanding into scale-up networking at a time when its becoming more impactful to that market.

Daryanani sees upside for Cisco in fiscal 2027, which began in July, as a refresh cycle for networking could offer "a second leg of growth" beyond its guidance for $7.5 billion in AI revenue that is already supported by existing orders.

Additionally, Cisco's Silicon One programmable networking architecture has a "sizable" opportunity against Broadcom's $(AVGO)$ solutions, Daryanani said, due to its full-stack approach from chip to system design.

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Daryanani and his team are also upbeat about Apple's $(AAPL)$ product and feature roadmap.

The iPhone cycle "remains attractive," he said. "Pent-up demand, the iPhone 18 Pro cycle and the expected foldable launch should support demand and [average selling prices], particularly if the base iPhone 18 is delayed."

Although some investors are doubtful about Apple Intelligence and AI-powered Siri, successful execution of those features "could extend the iPhone cycle, drive upgrades and unlock new monetization opportunities," Daryanani said.

The iPhone is also a sort of "consumer AI 'toll booth,'" he said, given its role as "the primary AI interaction device" for users. As demand grows for AI tools, Daryanani said Apple could find more ways to monetize on that in the future.

He also pointed to double-digit growth for Apple's services in the last 12 quarters, even as its App Store has come under pressure. He sees that as a tailwind for Apple's gross margin.

The company's return of around 90% of its free cash flow through dividends and buybacks and prioritization of shareholders is also a positive, in his view.