What Happened?
Shares of computer hardware and IT solutions company Dell (NYSE: DELL) jumped 3.5% in the afternoon session after a note from JPMorgan the previous day reiterated an 'Overweight' rating, highlighting Dell's 'AI Server leadership' position.
Adding to the good news, Dell announced its new PowerEdge XR8720t server. The company designed this new product to handle demanding telecom and edge workloads on a single platform, which could simplify infrastructure and prepare networks for more AI-driven tasks. The server was scheduled for a global release in the first quarter of 2026.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $138.01, up 3.1% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy Dell? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Dell’s shares are quite volatile and have had 18 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 8 days ago when the stock gained 2.8% on the news that investor optimism grew around the company's performance in the artificial intelligence (AI) hardware market, supported by a broader rally in technology stocks.
Dell benefited from surging AI and data center demand, which drove its financial results. The company reported record revenues of $29.8 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, a 19% year-over-year increase. This growth was largely fueled by its Infrastructure Solutions Group, which saw revenue jump 44% to $16.8 billion. Specifically, Dell shipped $8.2 billion worth of AI servers and booked $5.6 billion in new orders during the quarter.
Looking ahead, the company showed its confidence by raising its full-year fiscal 2026 AI server shipment forecast to $20 billion. The positive news came as money streamed back into the technology sector, with investors encouraged by advancements in AI across the industry.
Dell is up 18.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $138.01 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $144.21 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Dell’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,039.
Here at StockStory, we certainly understand the potential of thematic investing. Diverse winners from Microsoft (MSFT) to Alphabet (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO) to Monster Beverage (MNST) could all have been identified as promising growth stories with a megatrend driving the growth. So, in that spirit, we’ve identified a relatively under-the-radar profitable growth stock benefiting from the rise of AI, available to you FREE via this link.
