Two stocks on Josh Brown's list have been huge winners. How he's trading them now

Amphenol (APH) posted record Q2 sales of $8.8B (+55% y/y, +30% organically) with record orders of $10.7B (1.2 book-to-bill) and guided Q3 to $9.3B-$9.4B in sales and $1.40-$1.42 EPS, well ahead of consensus; the stock is now in a healthy consolidation near the rising 50-day (noted around $158, with levels to be halved post-2-for-1 split). Dell (DELL) is still surging on AI: Q1 FY27 revenue $43.8B (+88%), AI-optimized server revenue $16.1B (+757%), $24.4B of AI orders, and raised FY27 guidance to $165B-$169B (including $60B AI server revenue vs $50B prior) though gross margin slipped to 17.8% as memory prices rise. Net: strong fundamental momentum in both names tied to AI demand, offset mainly by near-term margin/macro uncertainty and technical/key-level focus ahead of upcoming earnings.

Analysis

APH is the cleaner way to express AI infrastructure upside because it monetizes content growth without the same inventory, memory, and working-capital risk that sits on server OEMs. The second-order winner set likely extends to other interconnect/cabling names and datacenter enablers, while the losers are firms that need volume growth just to offset input inflation. The split may improve trading liquidity, but it does not change the fact that this is now a valuation-sensitive momentum name, so the next leg higher likely needs either another guide raise or a clean hold of support after the split dust settles.

DELL is the more fragile exposure despite the stronger narrative because its earnings power depends on converting backlog into margin, not just revenue. If memory stays tight, the market may eventually re-rate memory suppliers and AI component vendors more favorably than the integrator, since Dell is effectively a spread business with limited pricing power versus upstream suppliers. That makes the upcoming print a real catalyst: a beat without margin stabilization can still be sold, while a guide-up with better gross margin could force another squeeze.

The contrarian risk is that consensus may be over-anchored to "AI winners" as a single bucket, when the quality gap between APH and DELL is widening. APH looks like a durable compounder, but the multiple already reflects that; DELL looks cheaper on forward earnings, but those earnings are more vulnerable to cost pass-through and mix. Falsifiers: APH losing the post-split equivalent of its rising 50-day/then 200-day, or DELL breaking the 50-day and failing to reclaim the $400 area after earnings.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Hold APH through the split, but only add on a post-split hold above the equivalent 50-day; if it loses that level on volume, treat it as a momentum break rather than a dip-buy.
• For DELL, avoid chasing ahead of earnings; if you need exposure, use a limited-risk call spread or wait for the print because the setup is asymmetric to disappointment given the expanded multiple.
• Relative-value idea: long APH / short DELL into the next earnings window to express "quality AI plumbing" versus "cyclical AI assembly"; best if DELL margins disappoint while APH keeps guidance intact.
• Watch MU and other memory suppliers as the cleaner second-order beneficiaries if DELL's constraint narrative persists; that would imply margin pressure is being transferred upstream rather than captured by the OEM.