The implication for ITAD and recycling firms is that the pipeline ahead looks solid, but it’s shifting away from throwaway machines and toward more prime gear. | Chayanuphol / Shutterstock
This fall’s third-quarter results from tech and lifecycle companies are confirmation that the industry may be experiencing a turning point.
As you look from hyperscale data centers down to local recycling shops, they are all signaling that businesses are modernizing at pace, and investments in AI are shaping the future of hardware turnover.
But these upgrades bring a change not only in volume, but in the value and complexity of each device, while new layers of compliance and data demands set a higher bar for everyone along the chain.
Apple and Amazon helped set the mood, with Apple bringing in $94 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter (ending September 2025), up 8% from last year, with strong growth in its Services business and a sharp rebound in Mac sales to business and education customers.
Amazon reported $143 billion in revenue, jumping 13%, as AWS cloud business surged by 20% on the year and advertising kept rising.
Both companies keep emphasizing how much they’re betting on AI infrastructure as we head into 2026. The implication for ITAD and recycling firms is that the pipeline ahead looks solid, but it’s shifting given that there are fewer throwaway machines, more prime gear, and systems lasting longer, essentially all requiring much more careful teardown and secure handling when they reach the disposition stream.
Amazon’s cloud growth echoes downstream performance. The company’s infrastructure spending shot up by about $16 billion from last year, adding almost 4 gigawatts of fresh data-center capacity, which is enough electricity to power 3 million to 4 million US homes. That’s about the size of Los Angeles or more than double the homes in Chicago, all just to keep servers running. Every new cloud server built today is tomorrow’s challenge for ITAD and metal recovery.
But it’s not just standard IT gear anymore — AI hardware relies on custom silicon loaded with valuable metals, and it’s tricky to resell outside the original environment. That’s a short-term limit for reuse, but over time, recovery and certified decommissioning are opening new possibilities for advanced recycling and compliance work.
Value of ITAD shifts to compliance workflows
Ingram Micro shows how distribution is evolving. Their quarter was steady thanks to continued demand, but more important, the quarter was about strategy: The company is rolling out automation and AI across its Xvantage platform, aiming to manage procurement, deployment and asset tracking as a unified system.
Lifecycle management is now built right into how Ingram operates, signaling that for ITADs and recyclers, value is no longer just about how much they can recycle or refurbish, but more about how well they fit inside networks that offer traceability, chain-of-custody and compliance reporting all along the equipment journey. Without strong digital integration or platform partnerships, disposition forms risk being left out of major enterprise deals.
Connection (formerly known as PC Connection) adds another layer of evidence that we’re in a cycle of steady modernization. Their third-quarter revenue dipped 2% to $709 million, but gross profit set a new record of $138 million on the strength of cloud and managed services.
About 60% of their installed base has upgraded to Windows 11, with a backlog—mostly delayed by public sector budget pauses—ready to trigger additional refreshes soon. Once those constraints ease, you can expect a wave of equipment moving toward recyclers and ITAD operators, especially in areas like data-center consolidation and endpoint turnover.
Iron Mountain highlights how lifecycle governance itself is now essential infrastructure. Their latest report shows $1.8 billion in revenue for Q3, up 13%, with Asset Lifecycle Management up 65% (nearing $600 million annualized).
The firm now blends physical storage, digital workflow and IT asset recovery in comprehensive compliance packages. Their $714 million contract for digitizing US Treasury records essentially means that secure data handling and sustainability are becoming must-haves for government and enterprise procurement.
And so for the decommissioning sector, this means one-off recycling contracts are fading, as long-term service agreements, with integrated data and sustainability tracking, are quickly taking their place.
Navigating the shifting landscape
Put it all together and you get a picture of a healthy, but tougher, market. Business and infrastructure spending are strong. The Windows 10 phase-out, upgrades for AI computing and government modernization are all pushing equipment into circulation.
Data-center expansions will keep feeding a fresh supply of valuable components. Automation in logistics helps lower the cost of collecting and processing. To play in this space, decommissioning companies must also raise their game by expecting to process fewer but higher-value units, all with the right documentation. That’s how steady profits and more reliable work could be within reach.
But the bar for remaining a respected participant in this market is higher. As we’ve been arguing for many months, compliance now covers more than just secure data erasure or being certified in the ITAD and the recycling universe. It demands audit-ready sustainability reports, and an infrastructure that guarantees traceability, tracking and reporting in ways that meet clients’ own compliance obligations.
Furthermore, OEMs are tightening control, which can limit independent access to retired assets. Devices are denser and more complex, pushing recovery beyond what traditional processes can handle.
Workforces are shifting: Companies need techs who can manage robotics, data analytics and environmental reporting as much as they need people on the floor.
This round of quarterly earnings solidify what the previous quarters already signaled: Decommissioning is progressively, perhaps even quickly, decoupling from the concept of raw volume, instead bringing to the forefront integration and expertise. Teams that stitch together device recovery, data management, compliance, and resource stewardship stand to grow and thrive.
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