New York, Feb 27, 2026, 17:15 ET — After-hours
- Dell shares jumped roughly 22% at the close after the company raised its AI server forecast and hiked shareholder returns.
- Dell is looking for fiscal 2027 revenue to land somewhere between $138 billion and $142 billion, with AI-optimized server sales projected around $50 billion.
- Traders are eyeing Dell’s ability to clear a growing AI backlog—without getting squeezed on margins by pricier memory.
Dell Technologies Inc. jumped 21.9% to finish at $148.08 on Friday, following a bullish outlook that pointed to its AI server revenue nearly doubling this fiscal year. Shares edged down about 0.4% after hours. 1
This shift carries weight as investors zero in on “picks and shovels” of the AI expansion—the server hardware and backbone infrastructure that power the software. Dell has carved out a larger slice of that trend, though its PC segment remains vulnerable to familiar cyclical ups and downs.
Dell, in a recent filing, set its fiscal 2027 revenue target between $138.0 billion and $142.0 billion. The company pegged AI-optimized server revenue at about $50 billion, which would mark a 103% jump from the prior year. “The AI opportunity is transforming our company,” COO Jeff Clarke said, highlighting over $64 billion in AI server orders with $43 billion still in backlog as the new year begins. 2
Dell posted an adjusted profit of $3.89 per share on revenue of $33.38 billion, with AI-optimized server sales skyrocketing 342% year over year, Barron’s reported. 3
Volume’s driving much of the narrative here. According to the Wall Street Journal, Dell reported $64 billion in AI server orders. After completing $34.1 billion worth, the backlog hasn’t let up—still holding at $43 billion. 4
Dell ramped up its capital return strategy, bumping its dividend 20% higher and adding $10 billion to the buyback authorization. According to MarketWatch, the company handed back $7.5 billion to shareholders last fiscal year. 5
Brokerages rushed in, with at least seven upping their price targets. J.P. Morgan went to $165, highlighting Dell’s reach among “Tier 2” cloud players—not the big hyperscalers, but the smaller cloud outfits—and also pointed to traction with enterprise buyers, Reuters reported. 6
But trouble lingers for the PC segment. Memory prices have jumped industry-wide, with TrendForce expecting standard DRAM contract prices to leap as much as 90% to 95% quarter-over-quarter in Q1, according to Tom’s Hardware. That puts margins under pressure—or means higher sticker prices for consumers. 7
The bear scenario? Simple enough—if parts remain scarce or prices climb, Dell faces a call: eat the extra expenses to keep its foothold, or bump up prices and gamble on softer demand, particularly for consumer PCs and gaming machines. Backlogs? They’re only useful if they actually ship when planned.
The next big date for investors: Dell’s earnings, set for May 28, 2026. Traders are zeroed in on those numbers, watching AI server shipments, pricing strength, and any signs the backlog is actually turning into cash. 8
