Dell, Snowflake and HPE Post Blowout Results as AI-Infrastructure Demand Lifts Tech Earnings

Surging demand for the picks-and-shovels of artificial intelligence powered one of the strongest earnings stretches the tech sector has seen this cycle, sending shares of Dell Technologies, Snowflake and Hewlett Packard Enterprise sharply higher. Dell (DELL) was the standout. On May 29, the day after reporting, the stock rocketed 32.8% — its best single-day gain since returning to public markets in 2018 — to lead the entire S&P 500. The catalyst was an extraordinary acceleration in AI server demand: first-quarter fiscal 2027 AI-optimized server revenue hit $16.13 billion, a 757% jump year over year, while total revenue surged 88% to $43.84 billion. Dell booked $24.4 billion in AI orders during the quarter alone, lifting its AI server backlog to a record $51.3 billion. Management responded by sharply raising its FY27 outlook, boosting adjusted EPS guidance to about $17.90 at the midpoint from $12.90 and lifting full-year revenue targets to $165–$169 billion. The stock is now up roughly 242% year to date. The enthusiasm spilled across the AI-infrastructure complex. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) surged about 19% to close its best day ever, riding both its own upbeat results and sympathy from Dell's outlook on demand for Nvidia-powered AI servers. HPE shares have more than doubled in 2026. Snowflake (SNOW) showed the AI tailwind extends beyond hardware into the data layer. The stock soared 36% after first-quarter fiscal 2027 results topped every estimate. Revenue rose 33% year over year to $1.39 billion, product revenue climbed 34% to $1.33 billion, and adjusted EPS of $0.39 beat forecasts by roughly 22%. Net revenue retention held at a healthy 126%, and customers generating more than $1 million in trailing product revenue grew 29% to 779. CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy highlighted that AI-driven workloads are becoming a faster-growing share of platform consumption. The company raised full-year product revenue guidance to $5.84 billion and announced a $6 billion commitment to AWS AI services and Graviton chips, alongside its acquisition of Natoma. The common thread is unmistakable: enterprises and cloud providers are racing to build out AI capacity, and the backlogs now stretching into the billions suggest this is a multi-year buildout rather than a one-quarter spike. With Dell's order book alone exceeding $51 billion and Snowflake signaling accelerating AI consumption, the demand signal underpinning these blowout quarters appears durable — though investors should watch supply constraints and margins as the ramp continues.