The fantastic growth of cloud computing and storage continues to be one of the most incredible tech stories of the past 20 years. While growth is expected to slow some on a percentage basis in 2017, it will still be huge and some semiconductor and hardware companies look poised to again reap the benefits.

A new RBC research report notes that Wall Street expects 2016 cloud capital expenditures, or capex, to grow a stunning 18% year-over year to $53 billion. The report notes regarding 2017:

Presently, 2017 is expected to grow 10% year-over-year in aggregate to $58.2 billion The one caveat that we mention is that many technology companies may provide capex guidance for 2017 during their fourth quarter earnings calls, so there is potential for more changes to 2017 estimates over the next 2 to 3 months.

The analysts point out that the hard disk drive and semiconductor stocks have the most significant exposure to the spending in their coverage universe, and five companies stand out the most. All make good sense for aggressive growth accounts.

Broadcom

This stock has been on a roll this year and is expected to trade even higher. Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is a leading designer, developer and global supplier of a broad range of analog and digital semiconductor connectivity solutions. Its extensive product portfolio serves four primary end markets: wired infrastructure, wireless communications, enterprise storage and industrial and other.

Applications for the company’s products in these end markets include data center networking, home connectivity, broadband access, telecommunications equipment, smartphones and base stations, data center servers and storage, factory automation, power generation and alternative energy systems and displays.

The company produces radio frequency (RF) front-end for LTE-enabled Apple products. Wall Street estimates that the company does 15% of its total business with Apple. Top Wall Street analysts like the leadership in the mobile, data center and broadband markets, and especially in the RF arena. Many on Wall Street see a cyclical rebound in industrial and communications demand.

Broadcom investors receive a 1.2% dividend. The Wall Street consensus price target for the stock is $201.55. Shares closed Thursday at $162.79.

Intel

This leader in semiconductors is working hard to scale away from dependence on personal computers. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) designs, manufactures and sells integrated digital technology platforms worldwide. The company’s platforms are used in various computing applications comprising notebooks, two-in-one systems, desktops, servers, tablets, smartphones, wireless and wired connectivity products, wearables, retail devices and manufacturing devices, as well as for retail, transportation, industrial, buildings, home use and other market segments.

The company also provides communication and connectivity offerings, such as baseband processors, radio frequency transceivers and power management integrated circuits, and tablet, phone and Internet of Things solutions, which include multimode 4G LTE modems, Bluetooth technology and GPS receivers, software solutions and interoperability tests, as well as home gateway and set-top box components.

Intel reported an inline third quarter, but data center sales came in way below expectations for the tech giant. Intel does a stunning 82.4% of their sales overseas, the lion’s share of it in Asia, where the chips that it produces are used in personal computers, tablets and other personal electronic devices. Fears of trade issues with China have taken a toll on the stock, and the timing looks good.

Investors receive a 3.08% dividend. The consensus price target is $39.82, and shares closed Thursday at $33.76.

NVIDIA

This top chip company has reported strong earnings all year long, and the picture continues to grow brighter. NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) is one of the leaders when it comes to supplying graphics processing technology for the 3D graphics market, including desktop graphics processors and gaming consoles.

NVIDIA is also moving into visual computing chips for cars, mobile devices and supercomputers. The company has a technology partnership with electric car maker Tesla Motors. It has been able to use its ability to leverage past investments, with a more controlled spending structure ahead on unified, which enables strong cash flow that is allowing a focus on capital return, which is currently estimated to be $1 billion next year.

Top Wall Street analysts feel the stock is maturing to a platform company from a pure chip company, and Jefferies sees the stock continuing to benefit from four secular trends: VR, PC gaming, chips in the automobile industry and graphic processing units in the cloud.

Note that the $85.02 consensus price target is less than the $87.64 close on Thursday.

Seagate Technology

Though still down over 40% from the highs posted last year, the stock has rallied huge off the lows printed in May. Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) designs, manufactures and sells electronic data storage products in the Asia-Pacific, the Americas and EMEA countries.

The company provides hard disk drives, solid state hybrid drives, solid state drives, PCIe cards and serial advanced technology architecture controllers that are designed for enterprise servers and storage systems in mission critical and nearline applications, as well as for client compute applications comprising desktop and mobile computing.

One of Wall Street’s biggest activist investors, ValueAct Capital, recently became one of Seagate’s largest shareholders with a new 9.5 million share stake. ValueAct established its new position via a secondary block trade, and will gain a seat at board meetings as an observer. ValueAct Capital generally invests in out-of-favor companies and works with them to make changes and boost long-term shareholder value.

Investors receive a 6.61% dividend, which many thought would be cut but has been held steady. The consensus target price is $38.98, while the stock closed Thursday at $38.11.

Western Digital

This long-time innovator in the storage industry is a leader in the total addressable hard disk drive (HDD) market, and it posted a very positive earnings pre-announcement earlier this week. Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) is an industry-leading developer and manufacturer of storage solutions that help to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content.

Western Digital is responding to changing market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling, high-quality storage products with effective technology deployment, high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Its products are marketed under the HGST and WD brands to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, resellers, cloud infrastructure providers and consumers.

The most compelling news is that the company made a stunning $19 billion purchase of SanDisk last year. This could be a strong addition to Western Digital’s current offerings, and the company could significantly benefit from SanDisk’s technology and portfolio leadership in the NAND flash semiconductor and enterprise flash systems market.

Western Digital shareholders receive a 3.25% dividend. The consensus price objective is $70.95. Shares closed Thursday at $61.61.

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Any way you slice it, the cloud capex will continue to grow, and these companies benefit. That is in addition to their other product lines. While only suitable for accounts that have a higher risk tolerance, they all may offer solid upside going forward.

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