According to reports from InvestingLive, Dell Technologies reports fiscal second quarter results Tuesday after the close, and the options market is braced for a large reaction. Contracts expiring September 4 imply a swing of roughly 11% in either direction, with the at-the-money straddle costing about $52 against Dell's $456.01 close on Monday. The straddle, a paired call and put at the same strike, allows buyers to profit only if the stock travels further from current levels.
As reported by Zacks Investment Research, Dell guided to revenue of $44 billion to $45 billion for the quarter, adjusted earnings of about $4.80 a share, and roughly $15.5 billion of AI server revenue. The company expected its Infrastructure Solutions Group to grow about 75%. Zacks puts the consensus at $4.72 a share across five forecasts, compared to Dell's $2.10 in the year-ago quarter. The bar is high due to the previous quarter's record performance, where revenue reached $43.8 billion (up 88% year over year) and adjusted earnings of $4.86 landed far above Wall Street's estimate.
According to the quarterly release, Dell booked $24.4 billion of AI orders and closed with a record $51.3 billion AI backlog. Management raised the full-year AI server target to $60 billion, with Jeff Clarke, Dell vice chairman and chief operating officer, noting that "the AI opportunity shows no signs of slowing." Shares have climbed roughly 260% in 2026 on artificial intelligence demand, demonstrating the market's confidence in the company's AI strategy.
As reported by InvestingLive, orders and backlog now matter more than the headline figure, with margins being the second critical test. AI servers earn thinner margins than storage, and Chief Financial Officer David Kennedy has flagged memory chips, processors and hard drives as supply bottlenecks. The company has also described an inflationary parts market that forces frequent repricing. Of 15 analysts covering the stock, 11 rate it a buy and four a hold, with an average target of $523.54 and a low of $434.
