I do this all the time. Out of a dozen laptops around here (Apple, Dell, Lenovo) none have broken over the years. I usually just outgrow them, or the batteries lose their ability to hold a charge.
Thinking about this, I realize that all of my laptops fall into four categories: (1) MacBooks ——these are made of metal and are quite rigid and strong, (2) large screened Dells, too heavy to pick up comfortably with one hand, (3) Lenovo Thinkpads that are thin but very lightweight, and (4) a couple of Chromebooks that sit permanently on a desk for web use only and don’t get picked up. In all of these cases, there is little danger that I will injure them by handling them as you’ve described.
I had an HP laptop provided by work that bent when picked up by the edge, such that four pads on the bottom no longer contacted and it had a tilt. I personally believe this should not happen, even if it costs an ounce.
The white plastic iBooks, especially the G3s, were incredibly prone to damage this way. I think I went through three G3s (on warranty) before they replaced it with a G4, and then swapped out a busted G4 still on the original warranty. Never occurred to me to change how I was using the system; it was clearly a design defect that was on them to handle. And none of the metal laptops ever gave me problems, although the TiBook certainly felt a bit fragile due to its size.
Thinking about this, I realize that all of my laptops fall into four categories: (1) MacBooks ——these are made of metal and are quite rigid and strong, (2) large screened Dells, too heavy to pick up comfortably with one hand, (3) Lenovo Thinkpads that are thin but very lightweight, and (4) a couple of Chromebooks that sit permanently on a desk for web use only and don’t get picked up. In all of these cases, there is little danger that I will injure them by handling them as you’ve described.