Dell Technologies (DELL) shares are ripping higher on Friday after the company delivered one of the most stunning earnings beats Wall Street has seen from a hardware maker in years.
In Q1, the multinational generated nearly $44 billion in revenue, beating consensus by more than $8 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.86 also came in well above the $2.96 that analysts had forecast.
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Versus the start of this year, DELL stock is now up more than 200%.
www.barchart.comIs Dell Stock Worth Buying After Q1 Earnings?
Strip away the jaw-dropping headline figures, and the story inside Dell’s quarterly print gets even better.
The company booked $24.4 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) server orders and exited Q1 with a record backlog of $51.3 billion, which provides a runway of guaranteed revenue stretching deep into fiscal 2028.
AI-optimized server revenue of $16.1 billion, up an exciting 757% year-on-year, reflects a business that isn’t just riding the artificial intelligence wave — it’s become the very infrastructure that wave runs on.
On Thursday, management also raised its outlook for full-year AI-related sales to $60 billion, which would represent a 144% increase versus the company’s fiscal 2026.
DELL shares are also pushing up because a record Q1 operating cash flow of $4.1 billion reinforces that the company has definitely crossed from PC-era legacy player into an AI infrastructure titan.
BofA Sees Massive Upside in DELL Shares
Bank of America’s senior analyst Wamsi Mohan responded to Dell’s Q1 release with a massive price target increase to $500, signaling potential upside of another 22% from here.
In his research note, Mohan outlined a multi-layered growth thesis that extends well beyond the current AI server supercycle, and into “intelligent security systems for agentic enterprise and cloud solution provider workloads.”
According to the BofA expert, solid execution and “higher attach of Dell IP in Storage” could drive the company’s share price up further as the year unfolds.
Mohan is convinced that we are still in the “early innings of enterprise AI adoption,” suggesting Q1 numbers aren’t the peak, but a foundation for a multi-year compounding story that may propel DELL stock to new highs over the next 12 months.
What’s the Consensus Rating on Dell Technologies?
Heading into the Q1 release, Wall Street analysts had a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating on DELL shares with a mean price target of about $213.
However, it’s reasonable to assume that aggressive upward revisions like that of BofA will land in the days ahead now that Dell Technologies has posted a blockbuster quarter and issued impressive guidance.
www.barchart.com On the date of publication, Wajeeh Khan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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