Key Highlights

● Amphenol reported record orders and record quarterly results.

● The company raised its dividend and announced a new buyback.

● Growth was powered by the IT datacom market.

● TE Connectivity slipped despite its own strong quarter.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) climbed on Wednesday, October 28, after reporting a record third quarter and rewarding shareholders with a higher dividend and a fresh buyback program.

The stock gained ground in the S&P 500, although it had been up more sharply at the open before giving back part of the move during the session.

A Record Quarter

Amphenol reported record orders and record results for the quarter. Sales surged and organic sales climbed sharply, according to market reports, as demand from data centers built for artificial intelligence continued to pour in.

The company pointed to continued exceptional organic growth in the IT datacom market, the part of Amphenol's business that supplies high-speed connectors, cables and interconnect systems for servers, switches and networking gear. Alongside the results, Amphenol raised its dividend and set a new share buyback program.

Why Connectors Matter for AI

AI data centers depend on moving huge amounts of data between chips, servers and racks at very high speeds. Every one of those links needs connectors and cabling, and the faster the network, the more sophisticated and valuable those components become.

That has made Amphenol, a company long known for supplying everything from military electronics to car parts, a notable supplier to the AI build-out. Not every connector stock rose: TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) slipped even after reporting a strong fiscal fourth quarter and guiding for double-digit sales growth in fiscal 2027, a sign that investors were picky about which AI-linked names to buy.

An AI Hardware Day

Amphenol's gain was part of a strong session for AI infrastructure. Vertiv Holdings (NYSE:VRT) rocketed after orders more than doubled, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) soared after setting a $225 billion fiscal 2030 revenue target, and Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) jumped after raising its revenue forecast. Memory and chip-equipment stocks rallied after SK hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY) posted a record quarter.

The S&P 500 rose 21.38 points to 7,743.98, its third straight gain. Technology and energy led, while rate-sensitive utilities and real estate lagged as long-dated Treasury yields climbed.

What to Watch

The AI trade got a split verdict after the bell. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose in extended trading as its Azure cloud business accelerated, while Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) slid sharply on a profit miss, even as it raised its 2026 capital spending forecast to between $195 billion and $205 billion. Higher hyperscaler capex generally translates into more orders for data-center components.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) reports after Thursday's close, and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Meta (NASDAQ:META) report later this week.