The GenAI Boom Accelerates and Transforms Ethernet Switching
The Next Platform, Sunday, September 20th, 2026
Switch revenues jumped 43.4% year over year to $18.91 billion as AI buildouts pull campus and edge upgrades along with them.
IDC data for the second quarter shows Ethernet switch revenues up 43.4% to $18.91 billion, a 23.1% sequential gain, with the router market up 22.8% to $4.51 billion.
The author notes these are record switch sales, and that the driver is not only GenAI systems in the datacenter but the campus and edge network upgrades needed to feed them.
Component shortages are expected to cap how fast the market can actually grow, while scarcity is itself pushing prices up.
Routers remain relevant for service providers, telcos and neoclouds that cannot write their own routing software the way hyperscalers do. For enterprise network planners, the piece is a useful read on where capacity and pricing pressure are heading.