Dell shares jump over 15% to record high ahead of earnings

Shares of Dell Technologies surged more than 15% on Friday, reaching a new all-time high near $294 as investor optimism around artificial intelligence infrastructure intensified ahead of the company's quarterly earnings report. The stock's significant single-day gain extended its year-to-date advance to approximately 125%, positioning it among the top performers in the S&P 500 for 2026.

The rally was fueled by a series of bullish analyst reports published in the days leading up to Dell's scheduled fiscal first-quarter 2027 results, due after the market closes on May 28. Multiple Wall Street firms raised their price targets, citing the company's substantial AI server order backlog and strong enterprise demand. Mizuho set a target of $300, while Citi raised its target to $290, highlighting Dell's role in sovereign AI systems and neocloud infrastructure. JPMorgan and Bank of America also increased their targets to $280, with analysts noting manageable component costs and sustained momentum in AI hardware purchases.

Market sentiment was further bolstered by strong quarterly results from competitor Lenovo, which reported an 84% surge in AI-related revenue. This performance is viewed...