Dell Technologies just reminded everyone that the AI hardware boom is far from over. Shares rocketed 16.8% intraday on May 22, touching an all-time high of roughly $298.32 before closing at $295.19, after the company dropped fiscal Q1 2027 earnings that left analysts scrambling to update their price targets.
The headline number: adjusted earnings per share of $4.86, compared to analyst expectations of around $2.93. That’s not a beat. That’s a demolition.
The AI engine behind the numbers
Dell’s results weren’t a broad-based tech recovery story. They were an AI story, full stop. The company reported $24.4 billion in AI orders for the quarter and maintained a record $51.3 billion AI backlog, a figure that should make any infrastructure investor sit up straight.
For context, Dell’s AI server backlog was $43 billion exiting fiscal 2026. That means the pipeline grew by over $8 billion in a single quarter, even as the company was simultaneously shipping product at an accelerated pace.
