U.S. B2B tech spending hit $35.3 billion in H1 2026, with cloud leading at 15% growth

U.S. B2B technology reseller revenue hit $35.3 billion in the first six months of 2026, up 10% year over year, with cloud emerging as the fastest-growing segment at 15%, according to Circana's latest Future of B2B Technology forecast released August 5. The report, which tracks combined spending across cloud, software and services, and IT hardware, signals that enterprise and midmarket organizations kept their technology budgets intact through a period of broader economic uncertainty.

Cloud leads, hardware carries the most weight

Cloud revenue totaled $1.69 billion in H1 2026, according to GlobeNewswire, and Circana expects that 15% growth rate to hold through the second half of the year, making it the only segment not forecast to decelerate. The figure is relatively small against total B2B tech spend, but the growth rate signals continued platform migration and infrastructure-as-a-service adoption across commercial accounts.

IT hardware remained the revenue anchor of the market, generating $17.67 billion in the first half, roughly half of the $35.3 billion total. The segment grew 11% year over year, driven by storage hardware, computers, and PC memory. Circana attributes the revenue gains not primarily to higher volumes but to richer product configurations, tighter supply conditions, and elevated NAND and memory pricing that pushed average selling prices upward even as shipment counts declined.

Software and services posted $15.98 billion in H1 2026, an 8% increase from the prior year. Circana identifies cybersecurity, managed services, and operational efficiency initiatives as the primary spending drivers within the segment.

Growth moderates in H2 but the investment thesis holds

Circana projects H2 2026 B2B tech revenue at $35.7 billion, reflecting a step-down to 6% growth. IT hardware is expected to slow to 8% gains, and software and services to 4%, while cloud holds at 15%. Mike Crosby, Circana's senior technology advisor, told GlobeNewswire that enterprise and medium-sized businesses will continue driving demand through ongoing PC refresh cycles and infrastructure modernization projects.

The hardware moderation story is nuanced. Circana notes that normalizing replacement cycles and more targeted purchasing will suppress unit volumes, but higher component costs and premium configurations will keep revenue growing faster than shipments. For procurement teams, this means per-unit cost baselines set in prior refresh cycles are no longer reliable benchmarks for budget planning.

On the software side, the continued emphasis on cybersecurity and managed services points to a shift in how commercial buyers are structuring IT spend: moving recurring operational investments into managed or subscription models rather than discrete capital purchases. That pattern tends to produce stickier vendor relationships and multi-year contract structures, both of which affect how reseller and channel partners build their pipelines.

The 2027 outlook: selective but steady

Looking further out, Circana forecasts combined U.S. B2B technology revenue growth of 5% in 2027. The projection acknowledges cooling macroeconomic conditions but assumes organizations will continue prioritizing productivity, security, infrastructure modernization, and workforce enablement. Crosby noted in the GlobeNewswire release that technology remains among the most resilient categories of business investment, with buyers growing more selective rather than cutting outright.

The 5% 2027 forecast represents a meaningful deceleration from the 10% pace of H1 2026, but it still outperforms many other B2B spending categories expected to contract or flatline if economic conditions soften. For CIOs and IT procurement leaders building 2027 budget submissions, the Circana numbers provide a market-level anchor: peer organizations are not pulling back hard, but they are tightening scope and demanding clearer ROI on each line item.

What this means for your team

• Reprice hardware budgets using ASP trends, not unit counts: Circana's data shows revenue growing faster than shipments due to richer configurations and elevated memory and NAND costs, so prior per-unit baselines will understate actual spend.
• Accelerate PC refresh planning for H2: Circana cites ongoing enterprise and midmarket refresh activity as a primary H2 growth driver; organizations that delay risk both supply availability and pricing pressure as demand concentrates.
• Lock in multi-year cybersecurity and managed services contracts now: with software and services growth moderating from 8% to a projected 4% in H2, vendors have more incentive to negotiate, making this a favorable window for contract renegotiation or extension.
• Stress-test 2027 IT budgets against a 5% market growth baseline: Circana's forecast signals the market expects continued investment, but at a slower pace; teams planning flat or declining IT budgets may find themselves underequipped relative to peers.