The AI trade in 2026 has broadened well past mega-cap headliners. NVIDIA, Microsoft and Alphabet remain reflexive answers, but the second wave of infrastructure and software beneficiaries looks most interesting in July. PineBridge’s 2026 outlook flags datacenter equipment growth as “essentially locked” as hyperscaler CapEx compounds, and Goldman Sachs frames the AI CapEx boom as the counterweight driving business and investment activity into 2026. That backdrop favors the layer of the stack bought after the GPUs: servers, networking fabric, and enterprise software that monetizes the models.

Three names capture that thesis: One for AI Factory hardware, another for AI data center ethernet and another for agentic enterprise AI. Each delivered a tool-verified data point in the last quarter that justifies the label “AI beneficiary” without needing NVIDIA in the ticker.

Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL)

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) has become the most levered AI hardware pure-play outside chipmakers. In Q1 FY27, reported May 28, 2026, revenue hit $43.84 billion, up 87.5% YoY, and AI-optimized server revenue exploded to $16.13 billion, up 757% YoY. Non-GAAP EPS of $4.86 beat the $2.96 consensus. Management booked $24.40 billion in AI orders in the quarter and raised full-year FY27 revenue guidance to $165.0 to $169.0 billion, with AI server revenue guided to roughly $60 billion for the full year.

The bull case is clear: Dell captures the enterprise and sovereign AI buildout that hyperscalers cannot serve directly. CEO Jeff Clarke framed it as “exceptionally strong demand for AI-optimized servers” with over 3,000 customers now buying various forms of our Dell AI factories”. Shares are up 241.91% year to date through July 13, closing at $427.11, and traded up another 7.05% on July 14 to $457.21. A P/E of 23 against this growth profile remains reasonable if AI server orders compound.

The risk: gross margin compressed to 17.8% from 21.1% YoY as the AI mix crowds out higher-margin traditional server and storage revenue. Shareholders’ equity remains negative at $(1.40) billion, and prediction-market sentiment has cooled, with a composite score of 34.36 (bearish) and a -20.05 shift over the past seven days. A nonlinear order pattern means quarters can disappoint even inside a strong trend.

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM)

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is the enterprise software counterpoint: agentic AI turning into durable recurring revenue. Q1 FY27 revenue came in at $11.13 billion, up 13.3% YoY, with non-GAAP EPS of $3.88 against a $3.13 estimate. Agentforce plus Data 360 combined ARR reached approximately $3.4 billion, up over 200% YoY, and Salesforce processed 3.8 billion Agentic Work Units and 28.6 trillion tokens. Marc Benioff called it “an outstanding quarter for Salesforce, record revenue, record deals, and cash flow. Agentic AI is the biggest growth opportunity for our customers, and for Salesforce.”

The bull case rests on valuation and monetization. Salesforce trades at a P/E of 19 with a 77.7% gross margin and 21.5% operating margin. Current RPO of $33.6 billion, up 14% YoY gives forward visibility, and the company raised FY27 revenue guidance to $45.9 billion to $46.2 billion. A $25 billion accelerated share repurchase reduced diluted share count to 871 million from 970 million YoY. Sentiment sits at a neutral 47.93 composite score, framing CRM as the contrarian pick, up just 3.21% over the past month against a -35.03% year-to-date return.

The risk: noncurrent debt ballooned to $39.3 billion from $10.4 billion to fund the buyback, and the Informatica acquisition adds integration risk. Core Sales and Service Cloud growth trails Agentforce, so the AI narrative must keep converting.

Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET)

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) is the networking layer connecting hyperscaler GPU clusters, executing on both demand and pricing power. Q1 2026 revenue came in at $2.71 billion, up 35.1% YoY, non-GAAP EPS of 87 cents beat the 81-cent consensus, and operating cash flow more than doubled to $1.69 billion. Management raised the 2026 revenue target to $11.5 billion and the AI Fabrics target to $3.5 billion, effectively doubling AI sales annually.

The bull case is simple: Jayshree Ullal said flatly that “our demand is actually the best I have ever seen in my Arista tenure”, and the company now claims the number one market share in high-speed switching in the greater than 10 gigabit Ethernet category. Purchase commitments jumped to $8.9 billion from $6.8 billion, a forward indicator of the order book. Shares are up nearly 24% this year, with the strongest prediction sentiment of the three at a 66 bullish composite score.

The risk: gross margin compressed to 62.4% from 64.1% YoY as hyperscaler mix and component costs weigh on unit economics, and Arista carries meaningful customer concentration alongside 52-week lead times on key chips. If hyperscaler CapEx intentions soften in 2027, the backlog reprices quickly.

What Ties These Three Together

Each captures a specific slice of AI spend, none requires calling the top on NVIDIA, and each delivered a quarter with hard evidence that AI dollars are landing on the P&L. That is the setup worth watching into second-half earnings season.

The post 3 Not-So-Obvious AI Stocks to Buy in July appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. 

Here’s a look at where things stand as of early morning trading:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 52,731 Up 0.14%
Nasdaq Composite: 26,057 Down 0.77%
S&P 500: 7,545 Down 0.35%

Market Movers

TSMC (TSM) gave the AI chip trade another data point, posting a record Q2 while raising its 2026 capex plan to $60 billion to $64 billion. Revenue rose 33.7% to $40.2 billion, net profit jumped 77.4% to about $22.4 billion, and Q3 guidance came in ahead of expectations. In Arizona, TSMC plans another $100 billion investment, boosting its U.S. manufacturing commitment to roughly $265 billion.

SpaceX (Nasdaq: SPCX) is hitting post-IPO turbulence, with shares slipping below the $135 IPO price intraday as lockup risk starts to overtake debut euphoria. The stock is now down about 33% from its post-IPO peak, with up to 911.5 million insider and early-investor shares reportedly eligible to come unlocked after the company’s first earnings report, creating a fresh supply overhang.

Dell Technologies (Nasdaq: DELL) stayed under pressure in premarket trading after a 10% slide in the prior session, as investors grew more cautious on whether the AI server buildout is getting ahead of itself. The stock has become a proxy for the AI infrastructure trade, which cuts both ways: demand is still strong, but any hint of overcapacity can hit the hardware names first.

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is reportedly sharpening its AI sales pitch against OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, training teams to sell Azure as the full-stack enterprise AI platform. Microsoft is not just pushing model access or cloud capacity. Microsoft’s Jay Parikh said in a motivational speech to employees, “Everyone else is selling parts, we’re selling the full end-to-end system.”

The post Live Nasdaq Composite: Chip Stocks Buckle Under Capex Pressure as Markets Hunt Leadership appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) both reported earnings recently, and their results reveal two very different versions of the AI server story.

Dell showed disciplined scale. Supermicro showed messy growth. Comparing them right now feels essential, because they sell into the same hyperscale and enterprise buildout but with wildly different execution.

AI Servers Lift Dell. Supermicro Trips Over Its Own Story.

Dell’s Q1 FY27 was the kind of quarter you rarely see from a company this size. Revenue hit $43.84 billion, up 87.54% YoY, with AI-Optimized Servers alone contributing $16.13 billion, a 757% YoY jump. Non-GAAP EPS came in at $4.86 versus a $2.96 estimate.

Storage lagged at 8%, which is worth flagging, but ISG operating margin still expanded to 10.5%. CEO Jeff Clarke described AI deployments where a single GB200 NVL72 rack has 1.2 million parts, framing complexity as Dell’s moat.

Supermicro’s Q3 FY26 told a rougher tale. Revenue reached $10.24 billion, up 122.7% YoY, yet missed the $12.45 billion estimate by 17.75%. GAAP gross margin recovered to 9.9% from 6.3%, which is progress, though the numbers remain preliminary and unaudited.

CEO Charles Liang leaned on the transformation narrative: “Supermicro’s transformation into a total datacenter infrastructure provider is accelerating.” Fine words. The $6.6 billion cash used in operations undercuts them.

A Full-Stack Giant vs. a Pure-Play Specialist

Dell’s AI orders reached $24.4 billion in a single quarter, and the FY27 AI server target sits near $60 billion.

Supermicro cites more than $13 billion in Blackwell Ultra orders, still meaningful, though the June 29 Taiwan raid tied to an Nvidia AI chip smuggling probe reset the risk profile. Reddit sentiment cratered to 22 to 27, deep bearish after that news.

The Next Test Is Whether Supermicro Can Convert Orders Cleanly

I will watch Dell’s storage attach rate closely, because Clarke openly admitted “we are not satisfied with the attach today.” That is where the real margin lift lives.

For Supermicro, the questions are simpler and harder: can the board close the export-control review, can DCBBS margins hold near 10%, and does the new Silicon Valley manufacturing footprint actually accelerate deliveries? Dell trades at a P/E of 34, while Supermicro sits at 15. That gap prices in the governance drag.

Where Execution Looks Cleanest This Cycle

On the data available today, Dell is executing at a different tier. The scale, the $3.118 billion in free cash flow, and Clarke’s willingness to describe operational messiness in detail suggest disciplined execution.

Supermicro’s profile is more suited to investors who accept governance risk and volatile margins, and the valuation reflects real skepticism after the stock fell 43.83% over one year. Key signposts for reassessing Supermicro would be a clean audit and steady 10%-plus gross margins. Dell also carries caveats, with insiders net sellers recently, though business quality this quarter stands out.

The post Two AI Server Bets, Two Outcomes: Dell Technologies vs Super Micro Computer appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) shares are down 14% to $394 at midday Wednesday, leading a sharp pullback across AI server hardware names. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) shares are off 8% to $45.67, and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) shares are down 5% to $26.26.

The move looks like a positioning event rather than a company-specific headline. Today’s drop takes a bite out of one of the year’s most extended runs for Dell stock.

Even after the slide, Dell shares remain up 219% year to date (YTD), HPE stock is up 92% YTD, and Super Micro Computer stock is down 9% YTD. In other words, Dell and HPE are giving back gains while retaining their leadership.

Profit-Taking Hits the AI Hardware Trade

There’s no confirmed fresh catalyst behind today’s decline in Dell, HPE, or Super Micro Computer. The action is consistent with broad AI infrastructure risk-off and profit-taking after enormous runs in high-beta hardware names, with Dell leading the decline into midday.

A few explanations are circulating, and it’s worth setting them aside. A GF Securities downgrade of Dell to Hold on valuation is older news and not today’s trigger. “AI-hardware overcapacity” and “rising memory costs squeezing server margins” remain thematic concerns without a confirmed event, and today’s move also coincides with weakness across chips and memory in a broad semiconductor de-risking day.

One accuracy point matters here. Dell, HPE, and Super Micro Computer are server assemblers that consume memory, so any memory-cost pressure would flow through as a potential margin headwind on server gross margin rather than a demand hit. Dell’s Q1 FY27 gross margin already compressed to 18% from 21% a year earlier on AI mix, which keeps that concern live even without a fresh data point.

The Bull and Bear Cases on Dell

The bull case on Dell hasn’t changed on the fundamentals. Dell’s Q1 FY27 revenue came in at $43.84 billion, up 88% year over year (YoY), and AI-optimized server revenue was $16.13 billion. The company’s management raised its FY27 revenue guidance to $165 billion to $169 billion, with AI server revenue targeted at $60 billion.

Analysts still carry an average target of $487 on DELL. The bear case is straightforward: Dell stock has traveled a long way in a short time, with a beta of 1.376, which means that positioning-driven days like this one can produce outsized swings. Hardware margins remain thin, and AI capex sustainability is a real question for investors considering exposure at these levels. Position sizing should reflect that volatility.

Peers and the Broader Tape

The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) is down 1% today and up 16% YTD, a reminder that the broader large-cap tech ETF is moving in a far tighter range than the AI hardware trio. The ETF is a diversified, non-leveraged tech-heavy fund, and its calmer tape today underscores that this selloff is concentrated in high-beta hardware rather than tech at large.

HPE stock still carries a forward earnings multiple of 12x after the Juniper Networks integration lifted the company’s networking revenue by 148% YoY last quarter. Super Micro Computer trades at a forward multiple of 9x, with an independent board review of export-control-related transactions still hanging over the story.

What to Watch

Investors can watch for whether Dell stock holds above $390 into the close, and whether HPE and Super Micro Computer stabilize alongside chip names this afternoon. A close near the lows may invite further deleveraging, while a bounce could frame today as a routine reset in a still-intact AI hardware uptrend.

The post Dell Falls 14%, HPE and Super Micro Slide as AI Hardware Stocks Give Back Gains appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) has quietly become one of the biggest AI infrastructure winners on the market. Shares are up 241.91% year to date, moving from $119.66 in mid-January to $427.11.

With a $43 billion AI server backlog and full-year revenue guidance recently raised by $27 billion at the midpoint, the run may not be finished. Can Dell shares reach $500 within the next 12 months?

Why Dell Shares Have Cooled Off This Month

After a vertical move, the stock is digesting. Dell trades roughly 4% below its 52-week high of $469.47, with a one-week return of 3.72% and the last session down 1.81%. The one-month gain of 7.97% pales next to the YTD number: momentum has slowed as investors weigh gross margin compression against volume.

Q1 FY27 gross margin came in at 17.8%, down 3.3 points year over year, as AI server mix expanded. With a beta of 1.376, sharp pullbacks in tech drag Dell down harder than peers.

Wall Street Is Bullish, and I Think It Is Still Behind

Analyst consensus sits at $487.26, with 5 Strong Buy, 14 Buy, 8 Hold, and zero Sell ratings. Our base case sits at $512.13, or 19.91% upside, with a bull case of $533.49 and a bear case of $388.16. Confidence: 90%.

The sell side is anchored to backward-looking multiples on a business that just guided FY27 non-GAAP EPS to $17.90 at the midpoint, up 74%. With 70% bullish analyst sentiment and earnings growth accelerating, consensus has room to move higher.

The Path to $500 Per Share

Reaching $500 from today’s price of $427.11 would require a gain of 17.1%. With forward EPS of $18.20, a $500 share price implies a forward P/E of 27x. Our base case of $512.13 already implies 31x forward earnings, so the $500 target sits below our base multiple and demands no incremental expansion.

Q1 FY27 revenue grew 87.54% to $43.84 billion, AI server revenue exploded 757% to $16.13 billion, and non-GAAP EPS of $4.86 beat consensus by 63.99%. CEO Jeff Clarke told investors, “We are innovating at breakneck speed, designing bespoke custom solutions for customers while being agile to respond quickly to evolving next-generation architectures. Our ecosystem in this space is unmatched, with key partners such as NVIDIA, AMD, Hugging Face, Cohere, Meta, Mistral, and Google.”

With $24.4 billion in AI orders booked in a single quarter and a $43 billion backlog, revenue visibility is unusually clean. The primary risk is continued gross margin compression outrunning volume leverage.

Where Dell Trades Today vs Its Earnings Power

At $427.11 against forward EPS of $18.20, Dell trades at roughly 23x forward earnings. For a company guiding 47% revenue growth and 74% EPS growth this fiscal year, that is not expensive.

The stock sits between a 52-week low of $109.88 and a high of $469.47, and long holders have been rewarded: shares are up 2,095.39% over the past ten years. Earnings power is finally catching up to the enterprise IT story that has been in place for years.

Is $500 Realistic? My Verdict

A move to $500 requires a 17.1% gain from here, and I think that is realistic within the next 12 months.

What needs to go right: AI order flow must stay in the double-digit-billions per quarter, FY27 EPS needs to track the $17.90 midpoint or better, and ISG operating margin must hold near 10.5% as mix shifts. A sharp AI capex pause from hyperscalers would derail it. Dell Technologies could reach $500 in 2027 if these conditions hold.

The post Price Prediction: Up 230% YTD, Dell Will Hit $500 on This Date appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Every feed you open right now has the same story: Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) is on a tear. The stock closed at $434.97 on July 10, 2026, and the year-to-date chart looks like a launch ramp. If you didn’t buy it, the FOMO is real.

Here is the part nobody is posting about. The Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (NYSEARCA:IGPT), a basket of AI and next-generation software names, also had a monster run over the exact same stretch. Exposure to the theme was enough to catch the move; picking the single winner was optional.

Same Window, Same Story

From December 31, 2025 through July 10, 2026, Dell returned 248.21%, with shares moving from $124.92 to $434.97. Over that same window, IGPT gained 66.4%, climbing from $59.47 to $98.96.

Put a dollar sign on it. A share of IGPT bought on New Year’s Eve for under sixty bucks is now worth nearly a hundred. Half a year. No earnings roulette, no single-name blowup risk, no staring at one ticker every morning.

Why Dell Ran, and Why the Theme Ran With It

Dell’s move was pure math. In fiscal Q1 2027, reported May 28, 2026, revenue hit $43.84 billion, up 87.5% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS came in at $4.86 versus a $2.96 consensus. AI-optimized server revenue alone was $16.13 billion, up 757% year over year. Dell booked $24.40 billion in AI orders in that quarter alone and guided full-year AI server revenue to roughly $60 billion.

That is a hyperscaler-and-enterprise AI infrastructure story with Dell as one beneficiary. The same capex wave lifting Dell is lifting the semiconductor supply chain, the networking vendors, the software companies selling into those data centers, and the cloud platforms renting the compute back out. IGPT is built around that theme: AI and next-generation software companies, held as a diversified basket rather than a single bet.

The Trade-off You Made By Not Chasing

Yes, DELL holders made much more. 248.21% versus 66.4% is not close. The reality is that concentrating in the right single stock beat the basket. It usually does, when you nail it.

The other side of that coin is the graveyard of AI darlings that did not work out. Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI), another AI server story, spent 2024 and 2025 giving back enormous gains after accounting concerns and delayed filings scared holders out. That is the tax you pay for single-stock exposure: the top of the trade comes with the possibility of the bottom of one. IGPT spreads that risk across dozens of AI and software names for an expense ratio of roughly 0.60% a year.

Worth noting: Dell itself now trades at a forward P/E of 21, with 14 Buy and 5 Strong Buy ratings from analysts. The stock trades at a fair multiple and stands as the highest-beta expression of a theme that has many expressions.

Process Beats Prediction

Chasing hot tickers is stock-picking with extra regret attached. When you win, you celebrate. When you lose, you replay the entry every night. Owning the theme through something like IGPT hands you most of the move with a fraction of the emotional overhead, and it does not ask you to be right about which server vendor, which chip designer, or which software layer captures the most enterprise AI dollars.

The AI buildout is a multi-year capex cycle that extends well beyond any single earnings report. If your worry today is that you missed the Dell trade, the more useful question is whether your portfolio has any structural exposure to the driver behind it. Process over prediction. That is the whole game.

The post Missed DELL’s 248% Run? IGPT Quietly Turned $10K Into $16,600 appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (NYSEARCA:BLOK) is the go-to actively managed vehicle for investors who want one ticker that covers the entire blockchain economy. BLOK owners get miners, exchanges, treasury holders, payment processors, and enterprise adopters bundled together, which is exactly the pitch: diversified exposure to a volatile theme without the risk of picking the wrong horse.

The trailing 12 months have exposed the cost of that diversification. A concentrated pure-play bitcoin miner fund has outrun BLOK by a factor that is difficult to ignore, and the mechanism behind the gap is straightforward enough that BLOK holders seeking miner exposure may want to evaluate the wrapper.

What BLOK Actually Owns

An actively managed basket with 54 holdings and $1.26 billion in assets under management, the fund’s top ten positions account for 37.91% of the portfolio, and their composition tells the story. The five largest positions are Figure Technology Solutions at 4.53%, Robinhood Markets at 4.39%, TeraWulf at 4.03%, Galaxy Digital at 3.95%, and Cipher Digital at 3.95%.

The rest of the top 25 includes semiconductor and infrastructure names like AMD at 3.24%, IBM at 3.12%, and Dell at 3.10%. That is a spread across mining, fintech, exchanges, and enterprise hardware. The fund charges 0.70% and has generated an average annual return of 17.89% since its January 16, 2018, inception. Beta sits at 2.14, so this has never been a low-volatility vehicle. Owners accept the swings in exchange for a broader read on crypto adoption. 

Where BLOK Falls Short Right Now

Over the trailing year, BLOK returned 7.77%, with year-to-date performance of 8.35%. That looks weak in a period when bitcoin miners rallied, and the reason is the same diversification that BLOK sells as a feature. The semiconductor names, enterprise blockchain plays, and payment processors, sitting alongside the miners, did not participate in the mining rally to the same extent.

Owners who thought they were buying a blockchain rally were actually buying a blended portfolio where the strongest sub-theme was diluted to roughly a third of the book. 

The Alternative: WGMI

The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF ((NASDAQ:WGMI)) skips the diversification. It concentrates on publicly traded bitcoin miners, with names like MARA, CleanSpark, Riot Platforms, IREN, Cipher, and TeraWulf making up the bulk of the book. Over the trailing 12 months, WGMI returned 111.45%, with year-to-date performance of 37.52%. That is a wide gap versus BLOK over the same window.

The mechanism is direct. Miner equities carry embedded operating leverage to hash price, and when the mining economics improve, the equity prints amplify the move. BLOK captures a portion of that through its miner sleeve, but the sleeve is one theme among several. WGMI is the theme. 

The Tradeoffs Are Real

Concentration cuts both ways. Bitcoin itself is down 40.73% over the trailing year, currently near $64,167, yet miners rallied on hash rate economics and operational scale. When that dynamic reverses, WGMI has no fintech or enterprise sleeve to cushion the fall. The past week alone shows the volatility. WGMI dropped 16.55% over the last five sessions and 14.55% over the past month. BLOK dropped 1.71% and gained 0.93% over the same windows. BLOK’s diversification is the cushion, and it works exactly as designed on the way down. BLOK’s dividend picture has also thinned.

The June 2026 distribution was $0.0799 per share, down sharply from $0.40756 in December 2025 and $2.5903 in December 2024. Yield sits at roughly 0.79%, so neither fund is an income vehicle. The swap only makes sense for investors who bought BLOK specifically for miner exposure and are willing to accept single-theme risk. In a taxable account, selling BLOK after a rally can trigger capital gains, so the tax cost has to be weighed against the concentrated upside.

A partial reallocation, keeping BLOK for the diversified sleeve and adding WGMI for the direct miner bet, is one way to sidestep the all-or-nothing framing. In a tax-advantaged account, the friction is lower. BLOK is a legitimate blockchain basket that delivers on its promises.

The problem is that the mining sub-theme has run far ahead of the rest of the basket, and owners who wanted that exposure got roughly one-third of it. WGMI is the concentrated version of the same bet, priced in higher volatility. Investors who are clear on their goal and comfortable with the drawdown profile have a specific alternative to evaluate against their own situation.

The post Why the Pure Bitcoin-Miner Fund Crushed the Blockchain Basket, Up 184% appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) shares are trading at $28.82 in Thursday’s midday session, extending a brutal stretch that has wiped out roughly a third of the stock’s value in four weeks. Super Micro Computer stock is down 29% over the past month, making it the clear laggard in the AI server hardware group.

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) shares are up 19% over the past month and have gained 6% today alone, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) is jumping 9% on a fresh M&A catalyst. The question for investors: is Super Micro Computer’s cheap multiple a bargain or a value trap?

Why Super Micro Computer Collapsed

The selling pressure stems from two overlapping shocks for Super Micro Computer. A $7 billion equity financing announcement on June 10 triggered an immediate 28% single-day drop, and late-June headlines about Taiwan raids on offices in an expanding NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) AI chip smuggling probe reignited export-control fears.

The fundamentals do offer a bull case, however. Super Micro Computer’s Q3 FY2026 report showed EPS of $0.84 against $0.62 consensus, with revenue up 122.7% year over year to $10.24 billion. CEO Charles Liang stated, “Supermicro’s transformation into a total datacenter infrastructure provider is accelerating.”

Still, the bear case is heavy. Reddit sentiment on SMCI stock has stayed bearish in the 18 to 28 range with no capitulation reversal, and insider activity shows net selling across 102 recent transactions. The analyst breakdown of 5 Buy, 10 Hold, 3 Sell reflects that caution.

Dell’s AI Server Momentum

Dell Technologies reported Q1 FY2027 revenue of $43.84 billion, up 88% year over year, with AI-optimized server revenue of $16.13 billion growing 757% year over year. The company booked $24.4 billion in AI orders in a single quarter.

Dell’s management raised its full-year FY2027 revenue guidance to $165 billion to $169 billion, a $27 billion midpoint increase that lifts the growth rate from 23% to roughly 47%. Dell stock trades at a TTM P/E ratio of 36x, a richer multiple that reflects execution.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s M&A Catalyst

The 8% intraday move in Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock is tied to an AI-driven networking M&A announcement aimed at roughly doubling its networking business. This deal is expected to deliver $600 million in annual cost synergies and be accretive to non-GAAP EPS in year one.

The setup follows a strong Q2 FY2026 print, where Hewlett Packard Enterprise posted revenue of $10.68 billion, up 40% year over year, and networking revenue of $2.69 billion, up 148.2% from the Juniper Networks integration. CEO Antonio Neri asserted, “HPE delivered an exceptional quarter with record-breaking revenue, higher-than-anticipated profitability, and increased free cash flow.” HPE stock trades at a TTM P/E ratio of 45x.

Sector Context and What to Watch

For broader exposure, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLK) offers diversified tech exposure, though it is not a pure AI-hardware play. SMCI, DELL, and HPE are notably absent from the top 10, and the concentration risk sits with mega-cap software stocks rather than server hardware stock.

Weighing the setup, Super Micro Computer’s 15x TTM P/E ratio and analyst consensus target of $37.25 offer real upside optionality, but governance overhangs, thin margins, and sustained bearish social sentiment make it the highest-risk pick of the three. For investors seeking cleaner AI infrastructure exposure, Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise present favorable risk-adjusted profiles, albeit at the cost of paying up for momentum.

The core takeaway: investors holding SMCI stock should consider keeping their position sizes modest given the volatility, while those rotating into Dell or HPE stock can watch for follow-through above today’s levels. Upcoming catalysts include Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Q3 FY2026 print, guided to $11.5 billion to $12.1 billion in revenue, and any updates from the Super Micro Computer board’s independent review.

The post Super Micro Stock Just Collapsed 29% in a Month: Is It Time to Switch to Dell or Hewlett Packard Enterprise? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Shares of Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) are changing hands at $26 and change midday on Tuesday, capping a punishing stretch that has left the stock down 36% over the past month. The AI server maker has become the clear laggard of the datacenter hardware group, even as spending on AI infrastructure continues at a record pace.

For contrast, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock is down 11% over the same stretch, while Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) stock has actually gained 7%. That three-way divergence has opened up a striking valuation gap and revived the debate over whether Super Micro Computer stock is a bargain or a classic value trap.

The core question for investors: does a P/E ratio near 14x reflect genuine mispricing, or the market’s growing skepticism about the durability of Super Micro Computer’s AI-server earnings?

What’s Behind the Selloff

The pressure intensified after Super Micro Computer reported its Q3 FY2026 results on May 5. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.84 beat estimates, but revenue of $10.24 billion came in missing expectations, and the company noted results were preliminary and unaudited pending a board review.

Retail sentiment turned sharply negative in June. A WallStreetBets thread titled “SMCI dropped 28% today” drew over 2,242 upvotes, and Reddit sentiment scores for Super Micro Computer stayed in bearish territory through the balance of the month.

The pattern in the sentiment data was notable. Even as Super Micro Computer shares kept falling, dip-buying chatter never materialized, suggesting retail investors were treating the decline as risk-off rather than opportunity.

Peers Tell a Different Story

Dell Technologies stock has surged 237% year to date, powered by $16.13 billion in AI-optimized server revenue last quarter and a $24.4 billion AI order backlog. Dell Technologies stock trades at a P/E ratio of 34x, a premium the market has been willing to pay for scale and execution.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock is up 83% year to date on the strength of the Juniper integration, with server revenue climbing 33% last quarter. Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock now trades at a P/E ratio of 41x, the richest multiple in the group.

Super Micro Computer stock, by contrast, is down 9% year to date despite comparable exposure to the same AI capex wave. The valuation spread against Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise is now wide enough to force a decision.

Value Prospect or Value Trap?

The bull case for Super Micro Computer is straightforward. Shares have already absorbed a heavy round of bad news, the P/E ratio sits well below peers, and Q3 FY2026 revenue still grew 123% year over year. CEO Charles Liang asserted that “Supermicro’s transformation into a total datacenter infrastructure provider is accelerating,” pointing to margin recovery and new U.S. manufacturing capacity in Silicon Valley.

The bear case is equally credible. Super Micro Computer’s gross margin sits at 11%, thin for a hardware maker, and AI servers are commoditizing as Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise press their scale advantages. A cheap multiple can stay cheap for a long time if the market questions earnings quality, and Super Micro Computer stock carries a beta of 1.94, meaning volatility cuts both ways.

Investors considering a contrarian entry should consider keeping their position sizes modest given the swings in Super Micro Computer stock and the concentrated risks in its customer base and margin profile.

What to Watch Next

The setup is genuinely mixed. Super Micro Computer offers the cheapest exposure in the group to AI infrastructure spending, but the discount exists for reasons the market has been pricing in over months. Whether that gap closes depends largely on execution.

The next catalysts are Super Micro Computer’s Q4 FY2026 results and any update on the board’s independent review. Investors can watch for whether SMCI shares hold recent lows at $26 into the next earnings report, and whether guidance in the $11.0 billion to $12.5 billion range can be defended without further margin compression.

The post Super Micro Just Collapsed 36% In a Month: Is It Time to Buy This Low-P/E Prospect? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

On a recent episode of Barron’s Streetwise, host Jack Hough answered a listener named William who was nervous about how much money he had made in AI-adjacent names like Dell (NYSE:DELL) and HPE (NYSE:HPE). Hough’s answer had a number in it that should probably make everyone else nervous too.

“You can look at the S&P 500 right now and you can say, okay, it trades at 22 times projected 2026 earnings. That’s kind of expensive. But it trades at 32 times projected free cash flow. That’s extraordinarily expensive.” The index is up 9.22% year to date, and the gap between what companies are earning on paper and what they are actually converting into cash is now the most important argument on Wall Street.

The accounting quirk hiding inside the AI boom

Hough’s explanation is worth understanding because it is not complicated. When a hyperscaler spends billions on GPUs and data centers, that capex gets depreciated over years, so only a sliver hits the income statement each quarter. Meanwhile, the companies selling picks and shovels (servers, switches, generators) book the corresponding revenue immediately. So the whole ecosystem’s reported earnings look terrific, while the cash actually leaving the building tells a different story. Hough cited Google’s projected 2025 profit of $173 billion against free cash flow of only $19 billion, and Meta’s $84 billion in earnings against roughly $400 million in cash burn as the shape of the problem.

Those specific figures are directional, and the actual reports rhyme with them. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) posted FY2025 free cash flow of $73.3 billion, up just 0.7% year over year, even as capex jumped 74% to $91.4 billion. In Q1 2026 it got worse. FCF collapsed 46.63% to $10.12 billion while capex more than doubled to $35.67 billion. Sundar Pichai then guided 2026 capex to $175 to $185 billion, which is a number that used to be a country’s defense budget. You can read the whole thing in the Q1 2026 8-K.

Meta is running the same experiment

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) reported full-year 2025 free cash flow of $43.6 billion, down 19.39%, even though revenue grew 22.17%. Then management raised 2026 capex guidance to $125 to $145 billion, from a prior range that was already historic.

The Q1 EPS beat of 56.79% looked enormous, but $3.13 of that came from an $8.03 billion tax benefit tied to R&D treatment. Meta shares are down 8.6% year to date, one of the few big names where the market has actually pushed back on the story. Alphabet, meanwhile, is up 15% YTD.

The hard-hat side has already run

Hough’s tactical suggestion was “less big tech, more hard hat and value stocks.” The problem is the market got there first. Dell Technologies reported quarterly revenue growth of 87.5% with AI-optimized server revenue of $16.13 billion, and the stock is up 217% year to date.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is up 77% YTD on the Juniper networking integration and AI servers. Even Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), which nobody would confuse with a growth stock, is up 62% YTD because its Power Generation segment rose 41% feeding data center reciprocating engines. Its trailing P/E is now 48x, which is not a value stock multiple.

What to actually do about it

Hough cited a Bank of America mid-year note that kept its S&P 500 target at 7,100, representing roughly a 5% decline from publication, alongside rising odds of a “bear flattener” in rates, historically the second worst phase for stocks in 12-month returns going back to 1976.

For most people, though, his advice was less exciting. “My recommendation is to hurry up and do nothing” for long-term investors. The 32x cash flow multiple is a reminder that when reported earnings are being flattered by the capex of others, the margin for disappointment is thinner than the P/E ratio suggests.

The post The S&P 500 Looks Pricey at 22x Earnings. On Cash Flow, It’s a Terrifying 32x. appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) stock is up 6% in midday trading Monday, running to about $419 after a broad bid returned to AI infrastructure names to open the week. The move puts Dell back near the top of the large-cap tech leaderboard for the session.

Peers are participating, but not equally. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock is up 5% to $43.46, while Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) stock is essentially flat at $27.19. That gap sets up the title question cleanly.

The short answer: yes. Dell is outperforming both peers on today’s tape, and it is outperforming them by a wide margin in 2026 so far.

What Is Driving Today’s Rebound

There’s no confirmed Dell-specific news catalyst on the tape today. The move reads as part of a broader AI-infrastructure and tech rebound, with chips, memory, and cybersecurity names also bid to start the week. Semiconductor ETF flows were sharply positive in Thursday’s session, with Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares (NYSEARCA:SOXS) up 17% on heavy volume as traders repositioned into hardware exposure.

The supporting bull narrative for Dell is the AI order book. Last quarter Dell reported AI-optimized server revenue of $16.13 billion, up 757% year over year, alongside $24.4 billion in AI orders booked in the quarter. That backlog is what’s keeping Dell shares in demand on days when the AI trade is working.

The 2026 Scoreboard

Dell is leading today and running away with the year. Dell stock is up 232% year to date (YTD), well ahead of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock, which is up 81% YTD. Super Micro Computer stock, by contrast, is down 7% YTD and roughly flat on the session.

That trio tells you where the market is currently paying up. Dell is being treated as the scale leader in AI server delivery, HPE is getting credit for its Juniper Networks integration and 148% networking segment growth, and Super Micro Computer is stuck under a governance overhang tied to an independent board review of export-control matters.

Bull and Bear Case on Dell

The bull case is straightforward. Dell posted Q1 FY2027 revenue of $43.84 billion, up 88% year over year, and management raised Dell’s full-year FY2027 guidance to a range of $165 billion to $169 billion in revenue, with an AI-optimized server target of $60 billion. Analyst sentiment has followed the numbers higher, with an average price target of $485 across the covering desks.

The bear case is equally real, however. AI server hardware carries thin margins, and Dell’s gross margin already compressed to 18% from 21% year over year as the mix shifted. Dell shares are richly extended after an enormous run, trade at a P/E ratio of 31x, and have been volatile recently.

Meanwhile, HPE looks like the middle performer with a cleaner margin story, and Super Micro Computer is the cautionary tale. Super Micro Computer stock trades at a forward P/E ratio of 9x, which is cheap for a reason given the audit questions and the recent Q3 revenue miss of 18%.

What to Watch Next

These are volatile names, and a single session doesn’t change the long-term thesis. Investors leaning into Dell stock here should consider keeping their position sizes modest, since the stock’s recent range has been wide and today’s rally lacks a confirmed company-specific catalyst.

Still, the verdict on the title question is clear. Dell stock is outperforming both Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock and Super Micro Computer stock today, and it’s outperforming them decisively in 2026. Traders can watch for whether Dell holds above $415 handle into the close and whether HPE keeps pace, which would confirm that the AI-infrastructure bid is real and not just a Monday reflex.

The post Dell Is Up 6% Today: Is It Outperforming Other AI Server Stocks Like Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Super Micro? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Two of the most-watched retail trading proxies in America filed very different sets of paperwork last year. Nancy Pelosi averaged roughly one trade every 22 days over the past 12 years. Donald Trump logged more than 21,000 stock trades across eight investment accounts in 2025, roughly 60 trades per day, according to Financial Times and EBC Financial Group analysis. Both beat the market.

The 2025 Scorecard

Pelosi’s portfolio gained 20.1% in 2025, outperforming the S&P 500’s 16.6% gain, according to the UnusualWhales annual report, which ranked her 28th among all congressional traders that year. The benchmark she topped, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY), returned 16.64% for the calendar year. Her disclosed 2025 trading volume was $48.6 million, up from $39.2 million in 2024, per Quiver Quantitative.

Trump’s stock-only return cannot be precisely calculated. Federal financial disclosures report holdings in dollar ranges rather than exact figures, and his 927-page disclosure mixes stock activity with real estate, crypto, and media income totaling roughly $2.2 billion in 2025. In Q1 2026 alone he disclosed over 3,600 trades worth between $220 million and $750 million, per Reuters, which by the upper bound exceeds Pelosi’s total disclosed trading volume since 2014 of $271.5 million across 213 trades.

Pelosi’s Long Game

Capitol Trades pegs Pelosi’s cumulative return over the past decade at approximately 816%, with an 87% win rate and an estimated net worth of $642 to $649 million as of mid-2026, up from $121 million in 2013. For comparison, Berkshire Hathaway generated roughly 282% cumulative return over the same period.

Her 2025 standouts included January 2025 Nvidia call options with an $80 strike expiring January 2026. Shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose 34.88% in 2025 alone. She also held Alphabet and Amazon call options at $150 strikes, and shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) have climbed 91% since January 2, 2025. In 2026 she moved toward large-cap tech, exercising Alphabet and Amazon options for actual shares and buying Intel and Uber call options in May 2026. One retail copy-trading portfolio mimicking her moves was up 72% in 2025. It’s worth noting that Pelosi’s husband was an ex-venture capitalist and the trades he directs are included in her disclosures.

Trump’s Volume Story

Three positions in Trump’s disclosures stand out. He bought between $247,000 and $630,000 in Palantir stock across Q1 2026, with at least seven purchases in March. Shares of Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) traded around $128.06 on April 10, the day he endorsed the ticker on Truth Social. Palantir’s federal contracts nearly doubled from $541 million in FY2024 to $970 million in FY2025, and its most recent quarter delivered $1.63 billion in revenue, up 84.7% year over year, per its SEC filings.

On February 10, 2026, Trump bought $1 million to $5 million in Dell Class C shares. Two months earlier, Michael Dell had pledged $6.25 billion to fund “Trump Accounts.” On May 8, Trump told Americans to “go out and buy a Dell” and the stock jumped roughly 14% intraday. Dell Technologies gained 107.31% between February 10 and May 8.

Trump also increased Intel holdings after the US government acquired a 9.9% stake in Intel in August 2025. Since August 1, 2025, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has returned 523.25%. The White House says the portfolio is managed through “fully discretionary accounts” by third-party institutions, with Trump referring to it as a “blind account.” He paid a $200 fine for filing his disclosure late and is exempt from the conflict-of-interest rules that govern other executive branch employees.

The Bigger Picture

Congressional trading is bipartisan. Republicans made up five of the top nine congressional stock performers in 2025, with Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) leading at 78.8%. Pelosi’s 28th-place finish sits well below that top tier.

Both Trump and Pelosi have publicly called for a congressional trading ban. The PELOSI Act is among proposals still stalled without enough votes. Pelosi retires in January 2027, after which her disclosures end. For investors who have used her filings as a signal, the transparency window has a closing date.

The post Trump vs. Pelosi: Who Made More Money in the Stock Market Last Year? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) at $414.61 is a hold. The stock has tripled in six months on AI server demand, and with shares sitting just below a 52-week high of $469.47, the risk/reward is no longer one-sided.

Dell is the world’s largest enterprise server vendor and dominant force in commercial PCs, now the go-to integrator for AI infrastructure. Its Infrastructure Solutions Group sells GPU-packed servers that hyperscalers and enterprises buy to train and serve models. The Client Solutions Group anchors the business with commercial PCs and steady refresh cycles.

Shares are up 231.91% year to date and 239.58% over twelve months, fueled by an AI-server pipeline outrunning expectations.

Why the AI Backlog Justifies the Multiple

Q1 FY27 was a blowout. Revenue hit $43.84 billion, up 87.54% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $4.86 against a $2.96 estimate. AI-optimized server revenue reached $16.13 billion, up 757% YoY, and Dell booked $24.4 billion in AI orders during the quarter.

Management raised FY27 guidance to $165 billion to $169 billion in revenue, with AI servers tracking to $60 billion and non-GAAP EPS at a $17.90 midpoint, up 74%. On forward earnings, the 21x forward P/E looks reasonable.

Morgan Stanley lifted its price target to $477, and the company is returning capital aggressively with a 20% dividend hike and $10 billion buyback expansion.

Why the Margin Math Should Worry Bulls

The AI mix is diluting profitability. Gross margin compressed to 17.8% from 21.1% year over year, a structural shift as low-margin GPU servers crowd out higher-margin storage. The balance sheet carries negative shareholders’ equity of -$1.40 billion, and Dell depends on NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)-allocated GPUs to fulfill its backlog.

Both cases are credible. The backlog is real, but so is margin compression. The buyback is real, but so is insider selling. Dell needs to deliver on its Q2 FY27 guide of $44 billion to $45 billion and show ISG margin holding above 10% before chasing this rally makes sense.

The Numbers Behind the Setup

Shares trade at $414.61 against a consensus target of $485.09, implying roughly 17% upside. Of 26 analysts, 5 rate Strong Buy, 13 Buy, 7 Hold, and 1 Sell. The trailing P/E is 32, forward P/E 22.

Dell is up 231.91% YTD while the S&P 500 delivered low double-digit gains over the same stretch. The 50-day moving average sits at $305.90, the 200-day at $180.96, evidence of how vertical this move has been.

At $414.61, Dell Is a Hold

After a 240% twelve-month rip, the upside to consensus is roughly 17%, while a single quarter of AI order softness or gross-margin slippage below 17% could compress the multiple by more than that. The reward no longer pays for the risk at this entry.

Triggers for a Buy: a Q2 earnings report confirming the $44 billion to $45 billion guide, ISG operating margin holding above 10%, and AI backlog growth matching shipments. A clean beat in late August would change the math. Softness in AI orders, hyperscaler capex deceleration, or a bearish MACD crossover would tip this toward Sell.

Dell pays a $2.205 annual dividend while you wait, and the next earnings report arrives in roughly two months. When a stock has tripled and momentum is rolling over, let the next quarter do the talking.

The post Dell Nearing 52-Week High: Buy, Sell or Hold? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) has gone from value-tech afterthought to one of the most consequential AI infrastructure plays in the market, and the chart proves it. The stock is up 227.78% year to date and 245.18% over the past year, yet our model still sees room to run.

Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Dell is $503.22, implying 22.9% upside from the current $409.45 price. Our model rates the setup constructively, with a confidence score of 90%. The AI server backlog, raised guidance, and analyst consensus all line up behind the thesis.

24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary

A Parabolic Run Anchored by a Blowout Quarter

Dell trades just 3% below its 52-week high of $469.47, well above the $109.88 low. Shares climbed 34.21% over the past month after the Q1 FY27 report on May 28, 2026, although the last session cooled 5.67%.

The earnings report was the catalyst. Revenue hit $43.84 billion, up 87.5% YoY, beating estimates by 22.58%. Non-GAAP EPS of $4.86 blew past the $2.96 consensus. AI-optimized server revenue alone grew 757% YoY to $16.13 billion. A reported $1.4 billion Microsoft deal in mid-June added to the momentum.

The Case for $523 and Beyond

The bull case rests on a backlog that keeps refilling. Dell booked $24.4 billion in AI orders in Q1 alone, sitting on a $43 billion AI backlog with a pipeline at multiples of that figure. Management guided FY27 revenue to $165B to $169B and non-GAAP EPS to $17.90 at midpoint, up 74% YoY.

Operating leverage is showing through. ISG operating margin expanded to 10.5% from 9.7%, while CSG widened to 8% from 5.2%. Our bull-case scenario takes shares to $523.69, a 27.9% return. With 18 Buy ratings against just 1 Sell, Wall Street is largely on board.

What Could Go Wrong

The bear case starts with margin compression. Gross margin fell to 17.8% from 21.1% YoY as low-margin AI server mix dominated. Bulls would counter that absolute gross profit still rose 57.6% and operating income climbed 213.8%, so dollars matter more than rates.

Other risks include negative stockholders’ equity of $1.40 billion, NVIDIA single-source supplier dependence, and hyperscaler customer concentration. Competition from Super Micro and HPE remains real. Our bear case scenario lands at $381.92, a 6.72% drawdown.

Putting It All Together

The risk/reward skews constructive at current levels. The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $503.22 reflects a real, fundable thesis built on a $43 billion backlog, raised guidance, and analyst conviction. The setup looks more attractive on any pullback toward the 50-day moving average near $292. The thesis would weaken if AI bookings decelerate sharply or gross margin slips below 17%.

Looking further out, here is where our model projects Dell could trade, assuming current AI infrastructure trends and FCF generation hold.

These projections assume Dell continues executing on AI server share gains and storage attach. Significant upside or downside could result from hyperscaler capex shifts or NVIDIA supply timing.

The post Dell Stock Price Prediction: The Case for 20%+ Upside appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) stock is up 4% to $29.25 in mid-morning trading on Tuesday, clawing back part of yesterday’s 8% drop tied to a Taiwan probe of alleged NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) AI chip smuggling. Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) stock is also higher, up 4% to $430.93.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock is the laggard of the AI-server trio, trading down 1% to $43.96 while its peers rally. The move comes as a broad bid returns to AI infrastructure and semiconductor names in early trading.

To be transparent, there is no new Super Micro Computer-specific positive catalyst dated today. The bounce reads as a mix of dip-buying after a steep slide and a sector-wide lift across AI-server stocks.

Oversold Bounce Meets a Broad AI-Server Bid

Super Micro Computer stock entered Tuesday on a five-session losing streak, capped by Monday’s plunge after Taiwan authorities raided Super Micro Computer’s offices and searched residences and affiliated companies as part of a widening investigation into the alleged smuggling of NVIDIA AI chips into China using Super Micro Computer’s servers. The company has said it is cooperating with Taiwanese authorities.

This is an ongoing probe, and not necessarily a finding of wrongdoing against Super Micro Computer. Some dip buyers appear to view Monday’s SMCI stock drop as an overreaction, given the uncertain impact.

Dell’s gain, without an obvious company-specific catalyst, reinforces that read. When the standard AI-server peer group (Super Micro, Dell, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise) moves together, it usually points to sector flows rather than Super Micro Computer news.

Peers and the Bigger Picture

Super Micro Computer stock has been a notable laggard among AI-server peers in 2026, down 4% year to date (YTD) coming into today’s session; SMCI shares have been dragged by governance concerns, dilution worries, and the export-control review flagged by the Board. The company’s most recent quarter showed revenue of $10.24 billion, up 123% year over year (YoY), alongside a non-GAAP EPS beat, though results were preliminary as the Board conducts an independent review of certain transactions related to export-control issues.

Dell stock, by contrast, has been a standout. It’s up 243% YTD, fueled by an AI-server backlog that includes $24.4 billion in AI orders booked and management’s outlook for about $60 billion in AI server revenue in FY27. Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock is up 86% YTD, though it isn’t joining today’s bid.

Supportive Super Micro Computer backdrop items, none of them new today, include an Odine and Türkiye AI-infrastructure partnership, a large AI server and data-center order backlog, and a recent analyst upgrade. These aren’t fresh catalysts and don’t resolve the probe overhang.

Sentiment Hasn’t Followed the Price

Reddit chatter on Super Micro Computer stock tells a more cautious story. A recent thread on r/WallStreetBets, “Super Micro -8% after Taiwan raids offices in expanding Nvidia AI chip smuggling probe,” drew 322 upvotes and 47 comments.

Sentiment scores stayed pinned at 22 (bearish) through Monday evening and into Tuesday morning. That suggests retail traders aren’t aggressively buying the dip even as the price recovers.

What to Watch

For Super Micro Computer stock, the key question is whether today’s bounce can hold into the close or simply fades as a relief rally inside a still-unresolved probe. Investors can watch for any update on the Taiwan investigation, on the Board’s independent review of export-control matters, and on whether Dell’s sector-leading momentum continues to pull the AI-server group higher.

The valuation picture is split. Dell offers visible AI-server traction, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has its Juniper Networks integration story, and Super Micro Computer carries the deepest discount alongside the heaviest overhang.

A single-session bounce doesn’t, by itself, clear the Taiwan-probe cloud hanging over Super Micro Computer.  Investors considering exposure should keep their position sizes modest until the export-control review is resolved.

The post Super Micro, Dell Gain 4% a Day After Super Micro’s Taiwan-Probe Plunge appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Melius Research’s head of tech research, Ben Reitzes, told CNBC to lean into chip-stock weakness and stay clear of the cloud giants paying for the buildout. “I’m telling them to buy on the dip. These have been opportunities in the past, and we just don’t really see any change,” Reitzes said. His list of buys covers Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron, AMD, and Dell, while Microsoft, Oracle, and Google are on hold until their AI monetization model becomes legible.

The framing matters because the broader debate has shifted from whether AI demand exists to whether the spenders can ever earn it back. Reitzes argues the answer is to own the sellers of compute. “The world is shifting towards compute… It’s been three years into this, and we’re probably in a 20-year trend. Compute is really the fuel. It’s the oil, and it’s going to be bigger than oil ever was,” he said.

The chip side of the trade

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) anchors the call. The Q1 FY27 earnings report showed revenue of $81.61 billion, up 85.2% year over year, with Data Center revenue of $75.25 billion and an $80 billion additional buyback authorization disclosed in the company’s SEC 8-K filing. Shares trade at a forward P/E of 24, with shares up 12.01% year to date.

Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) delivered $10.8 billion in AI semiconductor revenue, up 143% year over year, in its Q2 FY26 report. The stock is up 13.72% year to date and carries a forward P/E of 36.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is the cleanest expression of the “single-digit multiple” pitch. Forward P/E sits at 11, despite an FQ2 26 print of $23.86 billion in revenue and $12.20 in non-GAAP EPS, beating consensus by 39.74%. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said, “In the AI era, memory has become a strategic asset for our customers.” The stock has run 324.63% year to date.

AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) posted Q1 FY26 revenue of $10.25 billion, up 37.9% year over year, with Data Center revenue of $5.78 billion, up 57%. CEO Lisa Su flagged the Meta partnership to deploy up to 6 GW of AMD Instinct GPUs. Shares are up 157.58% year to date.

Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) sits on Reitzes’ buy list as the lone hardware name. AI-optimized server revenue hit $16.13 billion, up 757% year over year, on $24.4 billion of AI orders booked. Gross margin compressed to 17.8% from 21.1%, illustrating the cost of being a reseller in this cycle.

Why is he skipping the hyperscalers?

Reitzes’ capital-allocation argument is direct. “Why bother owning hyperscalers? They’re handing money to my other companies… They don’t generate cash. They may not generate cash next year, and they don’t buy back stock,” he said.

Microsoft is the cautionary tale. CapEx surged to $30.88 billion, up 84.4% year over year, in Q3 FY26. Satya Nadella said, “Our AI business surpassed an annual revenue run rate of $37 billion, up 123% year-over-year.” Yet the stock is down 23.7% year to date. A Polymarket contract gives a 69% probability that Anthropic plus OpenAI will exceed Microsoft’s valuation by December 31, 2026.

Alphabet shows the same pattern. CapEx ran $35.67 billion, up 107.4% year over year, and free cash flow fell 46.6% year over year to $10.12 billion. Google Cloud grew 63% to $20.03 billion with backlog nearly doubling to over $460 billion, but shares dropped 6% on June 23 after John Jumper departed for Anthropic and Noam Shazeer for OpenAI.

What to watch next

Reitzes’ wait-and-see line was blunt. “Call me when they figure it out. I don’t want to invest in that stuff while they’re figuring out the consumption versus subscription. What a mess you got,” he said. The next checkpoints arrive with hyperscaler July earnings, where CapEx guidance and any AI revenue disclosures will determine whether the picks-and-shovels gap keeps widening. Until then, the data favors the sellers.

The post Melius Research: “Buy the chip dip, skip hyperscalers” until AI payoff becomes clear appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Shares of Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) are down 6% in midday trading Thursday, last changing hands near $407 after closing at $434.06 on Wednesday. The slide stands out because it’s happening on a day when memory and storage names are ripping higher.

At the same time, Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) stock is up 5%, trading near $678. The split between a server and PC builder falling while a storage maker rallies tells the story of today’s market action in AI hardware stocks.

Both names have been monster performers in 2026. Dell stock is up 224% year to date through Wednesday’s close, while Western Digital stock has climbed 296% year to date. Today’s divergence isn’t subtle.

Two Sides of the Memory Boom

The catalyst behind Western Digital’s move is straightforward. Memory and storage stocks rallied after Micron Technology‘s (NASDAQ:MU) blowout quarterly results “justify elevated valuations” and reinforced the view that AI capital spending keeps accelerating. Memory has been a bottleneck in the AI buildout, and that scarcity is now showing up as pricing power for the suppliers.

Western Digital is a pure-play HDD beneficiary of that dynamic. The company’s most recent quarter showed non-GAAP gross margin of 51% and revenue of $3.34 billion, up 46% year over year. CEO Irving Tan summed up the demand backdrop, stating, “Virtually every AI workload, from training, inference, agentic AI to physical AI, creates data that is stored persistently and cost-efficiently on HDDs.”

Dell’s drop today doesn’t have a single confirmed catalyst, but it likely reflects the flip side of that same memory squeeze. Dell builds servers and PCs that buy memory, so the rising prices lifting Western Digital and peers translate into input-cost pressure for Dell’s box-maker business. It’s the same dynamic behind hardware-cost worries hitting other consumer device names this week.

Margin Pressure Was Already Visible

Dell’s most recent earnings made the margin issue concrete. In Q1 FY2027, the company posted revenue of $43.84 billion, up 88% year over year, alongside AI-optimized server revenue of $16.13 billion, up 757% year over year. The top-line growth here is undeniable.

Yet, the same report showed gross margin compressed to 18% from 21% year over year, with management attributing the pressure to a mix shift toward lower-margin AI servers. With memory costs climbing on top of that mix shift, the bear read on Dell today is that the margin math gets harder before it gets easier.

There’s also a simpler explanation worth flagging. After a 224% run this year, some profit-taking in Dell stock is hardly surprising. One red day after that kind of rally isn’t a thesis change.

Peers Follow the Split

The divergence is showing up across the complex. SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) and Micron are riding the memory bid alongside Western Digital, while assemblers and hardware makers that purchase those components are mixed at best. Capital appears to be rotating, at least for the session, toward the picks-and-shovels suppliers feeding the AI buildout rather than the box makers stitching the systems together.

Western Digital isn’t a cheap stock here. Sentiment in the WallStreetBets community spiked to a very bullish reading of 82 last week before cooling. That mix of retail enthusiasm and the scale of this year’s run means expectations are elevated.

What to Watch

Western Digital reports its Q4 FY2026 results in late July, with the company guiding to revenue of $3.65 billion plus or minus $100 million and non-GAAP EPS of $3.25 plus or minus $0.15. Dell follows with Q2 FY2027 numbers in late August, with management guiding to revenue of $44 billion to $45 billion.

Investors can watch whether today’s split widens into a broader rotation between memory suppliers and hardware assemblers, or fades as the market digests Micron’s results. The next earnings cycle should clarify how much of the memory boom flows to margins, and how much gets absorbed by buyers like Dell.

The post Dell Drops 6%, Western Digital Rises 5% as the Memory Boom Splits the AI Hardware Trade appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

There’s a clear, undeniable winner this year among three major AI server stocks. Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) stock has dominated 2026, with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) a strong second and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) a distant third. The gap between the three is striking, given that all three are riding the same AI infrastructure wave.

As of midday trading on June 24, Dell stock changed hands near $427, Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock traded around $48.50, and Super Micro Computer stock sat near $32. The spread between the leader and the laggard reflects a year in which AI server momentum has rewarded scale and execution.

Yet, the cheapest stock of the trio on trailing earnings is the one that has lagged. That sets up the more interesting question of value versus momentum.

Dell Leads by a Wide Margin

Dell stock is up 242% year to date, the runaway leader of the group. The catalyst has been a beat-and-raise cycle anchored by AI server demand, including $24.4 billion in AI orders booked during Q1 FY27 alone.

Dell reported Q1 FY27 revenue of $43.84 billion, up 88% year over year, with AI-optimized server revenue of $16.13 billion, a 757% jump from the year-ago period. Dell also raised its FY27 outlook to $165 billion to $169 billion in revenue.

The market’s reaction has been emphatic. Dell stock is up 46% over the past month alone, tracking the post-earnings repricing.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Takes Second on Juniper Boost

Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock is up 103% year to date, a strong second-place finish. The story here is the Juniper Networks integration, which has reshaped the company’s mix and accelerated earnings power.

Impressively, Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported Q2 FY26 revenue of $10.68 billion, up 40% year over year; the company reported Networking revenue of $2.69 billion, up 148%. CEO Antonio Neri called it an “exceptional quarter with record-breaking revenue” on the company’s earnings call.

Furthermore, Hewlett Packard Enterprise raised its FY26 non-GAAP EPS guidance to $3.35 to $3.45 and lifted its free cash flow target to at least $3.5 billion. The new FY26 outlook now exceeds what HPE had previously projected for FY28.

Super Micro Computer Lags Despite AI Growth

Super Micro Computer stock is up 9% year to date, a distant third place. The company is still growing revenue at triple-digit rates, but the share price hasn’t followed.

Although Super Micro Computer reported Q3 FY26 revenue of $10.24 billion, up 123% year over year, the dollar figure missed the consensus estimate by 18%. The board is also conducting an independent review of export-control matters, with results described as preliminary and unaudited.

Reddit sentiment on Super Micro Computer stock has been predominantly bearish in 2026, with sustained negativity following a $7 billion equity and equity-linked financing announcement in June. Retail investors viewed the dilution as offsetting strong AI order narratives.

The Valuation Twist

Here’s where the picture flips. On a trailing-12-month basis, Yahoo Finance shows Super Micro Computer stock at the cheapest multiple of the group, trading at 17x. Dell stock trades at 34x, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock trades at 46x.

The best 2026 performer is not the cheapest, and the worst performer is. Whether Super Micro Computer’s low P/E ratio of 17x reflects a value opportunity or the market’s skepticism toward execution and governance risk is an open question. The bulls can argue mean reversion; the bears can argue that the discount is earned.

What to Watch

The next anticipated catalysts will come from earnings cadence and AI order books. Dell’s FY27 guidance of roughly $60 billion in AI server revenue, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Q3 FY26 revenue guidance of $11.5 billion to $12.1 billion, set high bars.

Super Micro Computer’s Q4 FY26 guidance of $11 billion to $12.5 billion gives the company a chance to reset its narrative. Investors can watch for whether SMCI’s cheaper multiple draws value capital, or whether DELL and HPE continue to capture the momentum bid into the second half of 2026.

The post Which AI Server Stock Has Dominated in 2026: Super Micro, Dell, or Hewlett Packard Enterprise? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) is back in the headlines after announcing a $7 billion equity and debt raise meant to fund a flood of AI server orders, and the retail crowd is treating it like a comeback story. But here’s what you should actually be watching.

The SMCI Trade Is a Dilution Trap

Strip away the AI-server narrative and Supermicro is a low-margin assembler with a governance cloud. Q3 FY26 revenue came in at $10.24 billion against a $12.45 billion estimate, a 17.75% miss despite a tailwind that should make missing impossible. GAAP gross margin recovered to a still-thin 9.9%, the company burned $6.6 billion in cash from operations, and total bank debt plus convertibles ballooned to $8.8 billion.

The kicker: results were filed preliminary and unaudited while the board runs an independent review related to export-control matters. Reddit caught on. Sentiment cratered to a very bearish score of 12 on June 10 as the $7 billion financing plans were announced. The stock is down 31.05% over the past year and sits at $30.66. This is what the late stage of a hype cycle looks like.

Dell Is the Trade Hiding in Plain Sight

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) just printed the kind of quarter Supermicro keeps promising. Three reasons retirement-focused investors should redirect attention here.

1. The scale gap is now absurd. Dell posted Q1 FY27 revenue of $43.84 billion, up 87.54% year over year and beating consensus by $8.075 billion. AI-optimized server revenue alone hit $16.13 billion, up 757%, with $24.40 billion in AI orders booked in a single quarter. Management guided full-year AI server revenue to roughly $60 billion. That single product line is larger than Supermicro’s entire $38.9 billion to $40.4 billion FY26 guide.

2. Real margins, real cash, real returns. ROE sits at 44.3%, ISG operating margin expanded to 10.5%, and CSG operating margin jumped to 8.0% from 5.2%. Free cash flow reached $3.12 billion, and Dell returned $2.1 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends in the quarter. Supermicro is raising capital; Dell is returning it.

3. The valuation still works. Forward P/E sits at 23 against full-year non-GAAP EPS guidance of $17.90 and revenue growth of roughly 47% at the midpoint. The dividend yields about 1.1%, the buyback authorization was expanded by $10 billion, and the Wall Street analyst target sits at $483.83 against a current price of $409.50. Shares slipped 2.34% on the most recent session, opening a modest entry window after a blowout earnings report.

The Action

Retirement portfolios need scaled cash generation, expanding margins, and a buyback that actually shrinks the share count — the opposite of preliminary financials, export-control investigations, and dilutive capital raises. Dell warrants a spot on the research short list while the post-earnings pullback is still here.

The post Forget Super Micro Computer: 1 Unstoppable AI Hardware Powerhouse to Buy Hand Over Fist After the Pullback appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) stock is up 11% in early Monday trading, leading an AI server rally sparked by fresh hardware reveals at ISC High Performance 2026 in Hamburg. Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) stock is moving in sympathy, up 5%.

The catalyst is NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) unveiling its Vera Rubin platform for scientific supercomputing, with Super Micro Computer and Dell named among the global system builders launching custom Vera Rubin NVL4 racks. Both stocks opened sharply higher as traders piled back into the AI infrastructure trade.

The action also extends Dell stock’s torrid run. Dell shares were up 228% year to date heading into today, while Super Micro Computer stock has been choppy and remains down 25% over the past year.

Vera Rubin NVL4 Reveal Fuels the Move

At ISC 2026, NVIDIA introduced Vera Rubin as a platform for “world-class supercomputers for science,” touting more than 7 exaflops of AI for science, 5 petaflops of native FP64 performance, and up to 144 GPUs per rack. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang called Vera Rubin “a new instrument for science.”

Super Micro Computer introduced a Data Center Building Block Solutions Blueprint for HPC based on NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL4, a liquid-cooled design scaling to 1,152 NVIDIA Rubin GPUs and 576 NVIDIA Vera CPUs per scalable unit. That positions Super Micro Computer squarely in the next-gen GPU buildout following Blackwell Ultra.

Dell unveiled the PowerEdge XE8812 server featuring NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL4, which will power Doudna, the next flagship U.S. Department of Energy supercomputer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dell cited more than 5,000 AI Factory customers globally.

The Trade Has Already Run Hot

Dell stock is riding a powerful wave. The company reported Q1 FY27 revenue of $43.84 billion with AI-optimized server revenue jumping 757% year over year to $16.13 billion, and management guided FY27 revenue to $165 billion to $169 billion.

Super Micro Computer’s picture is more complicated. The company’s fiscal Q3 FY26 revenue came in at $10.24 billion, up 122.68% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.84 beating the $0.6245 consensus. However, Super Micro’s revenue missed the Street’s estimate, and the company recently secured a $7 billion financing package to fund a $39 billion AI server backlog.

CEO Charles Liang stated, “Supermicro’s transformation into a total datacenter infrastructure provider is accelerating… exceptionally well-positioned to meet the massive demand for various AI and enterprise verticals.” Yet, the Reddit tape tells a more skeptical story, with r/WallStreetBets sentiment on SMCI scoring in the bearish-to-very-bearish range over the past 24 hours, suggesting today’s bid is institutional rather than retail.

What to Watch

Investors can keep in mind that these announcements represent design wins ahead of booked revenue. Per the releases, Dell’s PowerEdge XE8812 is expected to be globally available early next year, and NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL4-based systems are expected from manufacturers in Q4 2026.

Both Dell stock and Super Micro Computer stock are momentum names with high beta, and the AI server cohort has whipsawed in both directions this year. Investors can watch for whether today’s gains hold into the close, and monitor events closely as the Vera Rubin news cycle plays out through the ISC conference week.

The post Super Micro Jumps 11%, Dell Rises 5% as New NVIDIA Vera Rubin Systems Fuel the AI Server Trade appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..