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DELL
FY2026 Q3
Raised
Dell Technologies Inc. earnings call
Buzzberg read
Record AI orders and backlog signal exceptional momentum
Dell reported a record Q3 driven by explosive AI server orders, raised Q4 guidance, and confirmed a significant shift in backlog towards NVIDIA's next-gen GB300 platform. Management detailed an unprecedented commodity cost inflation environment affecting all product lines, but expressed confidence in mitigating the impact through pricing and supply chain management. The call highlighted robust demand across a broadening customer base of NeoClouds, Sovereigns, and Enterprises for AI infrastructure. Record Q3 revenue of $27B (+11%) and EPS of $2.59 (+17%), with AI server orders at an all-time high of $12.3B, bringing YTD orders to $30B.
Buzzberg read Record AI orders and backlog signal exceptional momentum Dell reported a record Q3 driven by explosive AI server orders, raised Q4 guidance, and confirmed a significant shift in backlog towards NVIDIA's next-gen GB300 platform. Management detailed an unprecedented commodity cost inflation environment affecting all product lines, but expressed confidence in mitigating the impact through pricing and supply chain management. The call highlighted robust demand across a broadening customer base of NeoClouds, Sovereigns, and Enterprises for AI infrastructure. Record Q3 revenue of $27B (+11%) and EPS of $2.59 (+17%), with AI server orders at an all-time high of $12.3B, bringing YTD orders to $30B. Read full analysisCollapse analysis
Dell reported a record Q3 driven by explosive AI server orders, raised Q4 guidance, and confirmed a significant shift in backlog towards NVIDIA's next-gen GB300 platform. Management detailed an unprecedented commodity cost inflation environment affecting all product lines, but expressed confidence in mitigating the impact through pricing and supply chain management. The call highlighted robust demand across a broadening customer base of NeoClouds, Sovereigns, and Enterprises for AI infrastructure. Record Q3 revenue of $27B (+11%) and EPS of $2.59 (+17%), with AI server orders at an all-time high of $12.3B, bringing YTD orders to $30B.
- Record AI server backlog of $18.4B, with a significant mix shift towards GB300. Q4 AI server shipment guidance of $9.4B implies strong momentum.
- Raised Q4 FY26 revenue guidance to $31-32B and EPS to $3.40-3.60, citing continued AI strength and improved profitability in storage.
- Management openly discussed an unprecedented memory (DRAM/NAND) and component cost environment, but expects to recover more than the typical cost increases through direct-model pricing actions.
AI Revenue$5.6BReported
Revenue$27.005BReported
EPS$2.59Reported
Gross margin20.71%Reported
6 grounded callouts
What matters now
The highest-signal changes from the call.
Guidance
Q4 AI server shipments guided to a record $9.4 billion
Margins
AI server profitability sustained at mid-single-digit operating margin
Show 3 more callouts
AI
AI pipeline remains multiples of backlog across customer segments
Supply
Rising commodity costs will hit all product categories
Pricing
Dell expects better-than-normal commodity cost recovery
Reported period
Actuals
| Metric | Reported | Change |
|---|---|---|
| AI Revenue | $5.6B | Reported |
| Revenue | $27.005B | Reported |
| EPS | $2.59 | Reported |
| Gross margin | 20.71% | Reported |
| Operating margin | 8.03% | Reported |
| Free cash flow | $0.503B | Reported |
Forward-looking
Forward guidance
| Metric | Period | Range | Midpoint | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | FY2026 | $9.92 | $9.92 | Raised |
| EPS | FY2026 Q4 | $3.40–$3.60 | $3.50 | Maintained |
| RevenueAI | FY2026 Q4 | $9.4B | $9.4B | Raised |
| Revenue | FY2026 | $111.7B | $111.7B | Raised |
| Revenue | FY2026 Q4 | $31B–$32B | $31.5B | Raised |
AI, capex & demand read
Management read
Upbeat
Management struck an upbeat tone, repeatedly citing record AI orders, record revenue and EPS, and greater-than-expected AI shipment guidance while framing commodity cost pressure as manageable.
Management AI read
Management described AI demand as exceptional and accelerating, with record orders and backlog and a five-quarter pipeline that remains a multiple of backlog. They attribute Dell's edge to bespoke engineering, rapid large-scale deployment, and global support, and expect AI server profitability to remain in the mid-single-digit operating margin range.
all 3 named companies below
Companiesreturns since call
Supply chain
Supply chain
Jeff Clark
AI server demand is expanding beyond the largest CSPs. Dell's five-quarter pipeline is growing across NeoClouds, Sovereigns, and Enterprises, suggesting a broadening customer base for AI infrastructure. — The broadening deployment of AI factories across diverse buyers validates the scale of the AI infrastructure build-out, potentially benefiting networking and power/thermal suppliers who serve these markets.
Evidence
“Our five-quarter pipeline continued to grow sequentially across NeoCloud, Sovereigns, and Enterprises, and remains multiples of our backlog, even when accounting for the robust demand we've seen.”
Supply chain
Jeff Clark
The backlog for AI servers is shifting significantly toward the GB300 platform, indicating a rapid next-generation platform transition. — Confirms the expected product lifecycle of NVIDIA's AI accelerators, with demand already moving to the next platform, which is a positive signal for NVIDIA's roadmap execution and pricing power.
Evidence
“So in our backlog of $18.4 billion, there's been a significant shift towards GB300 as expected.”
External signals
Supply-chain alpha · 3returns since call
Memory and other component cost inflation is unprecedented, with demand far ahead of supply, affecting all product categories, but Dell expects to recover more than the typical two-thirds of cost increases within 90 days.
Evidence
“I'd categorize it as demand is way ahead of supply. We've not seen costs move at the rate that we've seen. And by the way, it's not unique to DRAM. It's NAND.”
AI server demand is expanding beyond the largest CSPs. Dell's five-quarter pipeline is growing across NeoClouds, Sovereigns, and Enterprises, suggesting a broadening customer base for AI infrastructure.
The backlog for AI servers is shifting significantly toward the GB300 platform, indicating a rapid next-generation platform transition.
Methodology & coverage
Management-only analysis. All 3 validated company mentions are shown. Reported actuals and forward guidance are kept separate. Public evidence is limited to eight short attributed quotes. AI-generated analysis can be incomplete or wrong; verify important claims against the original source.