Trading at $142.31, Dell’s stock marked its biggest one-day gain in nearly two years, reflecting surging demand for infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence workloads. Data center equipment makers like Dell are benefiting from the rapid expansion in AI investment, with industry leaders expected to spend at least $630 billion this year alone.
Dell expects AI server revenue to rise 103% to around $50 billion by fiscal 2027, according to the company. Wall Street responded positively: at least seven brokerages raised their price targets for the stock, with J.P. Morgan projecting a 36% gain from Thursday’s close to $165 within the next year.
“Dell’s leadership in AI compute for Tier 2 Cloud and Enterprise customers positions the company to navigate cyclical challenges while providing flexibility in managing operating margins and earnings outcomes,” wrote Samik Chatterjee and colleagues at J.P. Morgan.
While Dell’s PC business faces rising memory chip costs as resources shift toward AI data centers, the company has managed these increases better than competitors such as HP Inc and China’s Lenovo Group. Rising memory prices could affect Dell’s gaming PC segment, which relies on high-performance processors for smooth gameplay. Market researcher TrendForce recently revised first-quarter 2026 Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) price growth to 90–95%, up from prior estimates.
Over the past year, Dell shares have significantly outperformed HP and Lenovo, highlighting investor confidence in its AI-driven growth strategy and capital return initiatives.