New York, February 13, 2026, 17:49 EST — After-hours
- Dell shares clawed back roughly 4% Friday, rebounding after Thursday’s sharp tumble sparked by renewed jitters over memory supply for PC makers.
- Traders are debating if rising component costs will cut into margins, right as questions swirl around AI hardware spending.
- With U.S. markets closed Monday for Presidents Day, traders now look to Tuesday’s reopening as the next immediate gauge.
Dell Technologies (DELL.N) climbed 4.1% to $117.49 in after-hours trading Friday. Shares moved between $112.75 and $120.82 in the session, with roughly 10.5 million shares traded.
Investors are looking for a foothold in hardware after technology stocks took a hit. The S&P 500 edged up Friday, buoyed by a milder U.S. inflation report. Still, the Nasdaq lost ground, weighed down by persistent weakness in big tech names. 1
It’s a rough stretch for Dell. The memory-chip squeeze, deepening thanks to surging AI orders, is hitting PC manufacturers where it hurts and could spark new rounds of pricing changes right across the sector. 2
Dell dropped 9% Thursday, hit by a broad tech selloff and sinking PC stocks after Lenovo warned of shipment headwinds tied to memory supply issues. “We see this as a ‘prove it’ year for AI,” said Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at GuideStone Funds. 3
Some on the sell side are now casting the surprise as a margin problem. Citing the squeeze from rising costs and cooler demand, Bank of America analysts led by Wamsi Mohan lowered their price target on Dell to $150, down from $163, according to MarketWatch. Over at Mizuho, Jordan Klein flagged a “real risk” to Dell and its peers if gross margins keep feeling the heat. (Gross margin is what’s left after covering the cost to make and buy goods.) 4
Friday saw a rebound for several U.S.-listed hardware stocks. HP Inc (HPQ.N) climbed 2.1%, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE.N) picked up 2.2%. Both moved up after dropping the previous day.
Even so, Dell stock’s direction from here probably hinges on concrete results over sentiment. Investors are watching to see how much component inflation Dell can actually push through, and if corporate buyers keep spending on servers and storage as budgets tighten.
The rebound doesn’t always last. Should the memory crunch deepen, vendors are stuck—either hike prices and take a hit on demand, or swallow the costs and let margins slip.
Timing could play a part here. With U.S. stock and bond markets shut Monday for Presidents Day, liquidity typically dries up heading into the holiday. If chip-cost headlines shift, Tuesday’s open could swing hard. 5
Dell has nailed down the timing for its next major update. The company scheduled a conference call for February 26, starting at 3:30 p.m. CST, where it’ll go over fourth-quarter and full-year results for fiscal 2026. Results plus guidance will hit the wires before the call. 6
