Hewlett Packard Enterprise and other technology companies have pointed to operating system and AI adoption as drivers for device refreshes, spurring supply for recyclers and secondary markets. | Photo courtesy of Hewlett Packard Enterprise
In its recent quarterly investor call, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) was the latest technology firm to credit a sustained cycle of enterprise infrastructure upgrades for a prolonged increase of used equipment into secondary markets.
During the Sept. 3 investor call, CEO Antonio Neri said customers are leaning into Gen12 servers as replacements for older lines, with the newer machines taking up less space and using far less power. That shift means prior-generation systems are beginning to be decommissioned, creating a pipeline of still-capable equipment for resale.
On the networking side, the story looks much the same. Orders for Wi-Fi 7 gear jumped, and Juniper’s data-center switches have broadened HPE’s catalog. As buyers adopt these newer platforms, earlier Wi-Fi 5 and 6 hardware will increasingly move into their decommissioning phase.
Another part of the picture is government and regulated-sector projects tied to AI. HPE said orders in that category more than doubled from the previous quarter. Such deployments often come with strict requirements for how equipment is handled at end of life, raising the bar on secure logistics and data destruction.
Storage is turning over as well. The company’s Alletra MP arrays are gaining traction, creating decommissioning opportunities for legacy storage gear. That change is happening alongside a shift in virtualization platforms, further adding to the stream of equipment no longer in active use.
For its fiscal third quarter 2025, HPE reported $9.1 billion in revenue during the quarter, an 18% jump from last year. Servers accounted for nearly half, with $4.9 billion in sales, a record for the company. About a third of that came from systems built for artificial intelligence. Networking revenue rose sharply as well, helped by the acquisition of Juniper Networks in July.
Industry trends driving recycling, secondary markets
HPE isn’t the only one seeing these patterns. Dell recently noted a surge in demand for AI-ready servers, and former HPE parent company HP pointed to rising sales of PCs built for AI tasks.
Taken together, the three OEMs are moving in the same direction: refreshing infrastructure top to bottom, feeding into the ITAD and recycling streams. Technology firm Ingram Micro noted similar trends driving demand for its Lifecycle ITAD business.
Another area of strength for HPE is its Finance and IT business, which includes the lease returns unit. The leasing arm brought in nearly $900 million during the quarter and continues to manage a large volume of end-of-lease returns. Much of that gear is processed through HPE’s own renewal centers, where equipment is sanitized, refurbished and often remarketed. That keeps high-quality returns under OEM control and leaves fewer opportunities for third-party ITAD firms to capture.
Still, as evidenced by this earnings season, servers, networking gear and storage are all cycling forward, and the volume of used equipment entering the market will likely continue to rise for the foreseeable future.