Dell Technologies DELL shares have declined 10.1% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, underperforming the Zacks Computer – Micro Computers industry and the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector. While the industry has declined 5.8%, the sector has returned 1.9% over the same period.

Continuing weakness in the consumer segment of the PC market has been a concern for DELL’s investors. Cautious spending by enterprises and large customers on PCs and storage IT is hurting near-term prospects. 

Per IDC data, DELL’s PC shipment declined 0.2% year over year to 9.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. Dell Technologies’ market share decreased 20 basis points (bps) to 14.4%. 

In terms of market share, Lenovo maintained the #1 position with 24.5%, trailed by HP HPQ with 14.4%. Apple’s AAPL market share improved from 8.8% in the year-ago quarter to 10.1%, while its shipment increased 10.1% year over year to 7 million Macs.

DELL Shares Lag Sector YTD

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Technically, DELL shares are trading below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating a bearish trend.

DELL Shares Trade Below 50-Day & 200-Day SMA

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Earnings Estimate Revisions Show Downward Trend for DELL

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DELL’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $9.36 per share, down 2.2% over the past 30 days.

DELL’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 10.44%.
 

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Can Strong AI Demand Push the DELL Stock Higher?

Strong demand for AI servers, driven by ongoing digital transformation and heightened interest in generative AI (GenAI) applications, is a key catalyst. In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Dell Technologies shipped $2.9 billion of AI servers, and the AI server backlog was $4.5 billion exiting the reported quarter.

AI server pipeline is expanding across Tier-2 CSPs and enterprise customers. Dell Technologies expects strong top-line growth for the second half of fiscal 2025, driven by robust AI demand. 

The Dell AI Factory, which combines Dell Technologies’ solutions and services optimized for AI workloads and supports an open ecosystem of partners comprising NVIDIA NVDA, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Hugging Face, has been a game changer.

DELL’s end-to-end solutions portfolio supports long-term growth targets. It expects revenues to grow between 3% and 4% and earnings of more than 8%. 

Dell Technologies expects to return to more than 80% adjusted free cash flow to shareholders and a dividend growth rate of more than 10% during the 2024-2028 timeframe. Since the VMware spin-off, Dell Technologies has returned $5.5 billion to shareholders.

Strong Portfolio, Rich Partner Base Bodes Well for DELL

DELL’s leading-edge air and liquid-cooled AI servers, networking and storage, tuned and optimized for maximum performance at the node and rack level, are driving top-line growth. 

Dell Technologies, supported by NVIDIA, AMD and Intel, offers 10 AI-optimized servers, namely XE9712, XE9685L, XE7745, XE7740, XE9680L, XE9680, XE9640, XE8640, R750XA and R760XA. 

DELL’s expanding partner base, which includes AMD, NVDA, META, MSFT and Intel, is helping it gain customers.

DELL is also benefiting from improving demand for traditional servers (up year over year for the fourth consecutive quarter), driven by higher volume and average selling prices with more enterprise-oriented configurations.

DELL Shares Trading Cheap

Dell Technologies shares are cheap, as suggested by a Value Score of B. 

The DELL stock is trading at a significant discount with a forward 12-month P/E of 13.23X compared with the sector’s 26.81X.

DELL’s P/E Ratio (F12M)

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What Should Investors Do With DELL Shares?

DELL’s robust portfolio and expanding partner base are key drivers that make the stock attractive for long-term investors. 

DELL’s targeted market, which includes AI, PC, peripherals, server, storage, IT Networking, and hardware deployment and support, is expected to hit $2.1 trillion by 2027. ISG is expected to witness a 7% CAGR between 2023 and 2027. 

Dell Technologies believes that the AI hardware and services market will be worth $124 billion by 2027, witnessing a CAGR of more than 18% between 2023 and 2027. The company is strengthening engineering capabilities, including data center networking and design, to support its AI-related initiatives.

DELL expects the upcoming PC refreshment cycle with new AI-powered PCs to boost revenues in fiscal 2026. This is expected to have driven CSG’s top-line growth.

ISG’s performance is expected to be driven by strong demand for AI servers, followed by traditional servers and storage. DELL’s continuing focus on the mid-range market and a richer portfolio with enhancements is expected to drive top-line and margin expansion over the long haul.

Hence, investors who already own the stock may expect DELL's growth prospects to be rewarding over the long term.

However, near-term weakness in the PC market is a headwind, along with a challenging macroeconomic environment. Increasing competition in the AI datacenter market is a concern.

DELL currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggesting that it may be wise to wait for a more favorable entry point in the stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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