Dell, most commonly known for its personal computers, reported its first fiscal-quarter earnings this week, and it’s doing very well, thanks, somewhat surprisingly, to the AI boom and a boost from President Donald Trump.
The computer giant reported blockbuster first fiscal quarter earnings this week, with revenue jumping 88% year over year to $43.8 billion for the three months ending May 1.
The report blew past Wall Street expectations and sent Dell’s stock soaring 39% on Thursday.
Fortunately for Trump, he conveniently bought millions of dollars’ worth of shares in Dell, as well as other tech stocks in Q1, according to records from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
Specifically, he bought between $1 million and $5 million in Dell stock on Feb. 10. Just nine days later, on Feb. 19, Trump told an audience to “go out and buy a Dell computer.”
He again told people to buy a Dell at a Mother’s Day event at the White House this month, after thanking Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell and his wife, Susan Dell, for their donation to the president’s Trump Accounts initiative.
And it seems Dell isn’t just getting public endorsements from the president. This week, Dell landed a five-year, $9.7 billion Pentagon deal to help supply Microsoft software to the U.S. military.
Seems like a win-win for everyone involved; however, it raises some pretty obvious questions about potential conflicts of interest and insider trading.
“Michael and Susan Dell are two of many entrepreneurs and philanthropists who have answered President Trump’s call to action to invest in the next generation of Americans through Trump Accounts,” White House Spokesperson Kush Desai said in an emailed statement to Gizmodo. “President Trump’s only interest is doing what’s best for the American people, and his effusive praise for the Dells is rooted only in their patriotic contribution of over $6 billion to the Trump Accounts of 25 million working-class American children.”
Aside from the president’s very public backing, Dell’s success is being driven primarily by investor enthusiasm for AI. The company has increased its focus on assembling servers housing the chips needed to train and run AI systems. Dell reported that revenue from its AI server business skyrocketed 757% year over year to $16.1 billion. And the company thinks that growth is just getting started.
“We booked $24.4 billion in AI orders and recognized $16.1 billion of AI server revenue. We’re increasing our AI server revenue expectations for FY27 to $60 billion, which only goes to show the AI opportunity shows no signs of slowing,” said Dell Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke in a press release.
For comparison, Dell’s consumer division generated just $1.6 billion in revenue.
Overall, the company’s net income rose 256% to $3.4 billion. Its earnings per share came in at $4.86.
Outside of Dell, Trump’s other tech stock picks, including Oracle, Nvidia, and AMD, are also faring pretty well. He bought between $1 million and $5 million worth of shares of each company during the first quarter of the year. All three companies have since benefited from Wall Street’s AI obsession, and in some cases, from policies backed by Trump’s own administration.
For instance, Trump bought shares of Nvidia and AMD shortly before his administration authorized the companies to sell some AI chips to China.
Apparently, it turns out Trump’s portfolio may be a pretty good guide to his political priorities.
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