Dell Technologies (DELL) isn’t usually top of mind when investors think of high-growth tech stocks, but over the past five years, it has quietly outpaced even Apple (AAPL).
According to financial data platform Koyfin, Dell shares have surged 306% over the period, compared with Apple’s 113% gain.
“If someone asked you 5 years ago that Dell would outperform Apple over the next 5 years, would you have believed them?” Koyfin asked.
The outperformance reflects Dell’s transformation. Once seen as a low-growth PC maker, the company has reinvented itself as a major player in enterprise solutions, hybrid cloud, and AI infrastructure.
Demand for AI-optimized servers and storage has accelerated since 2022, and Dell’s partnerships with Nvidia and other AI leaders have positioned it as a go-to hardware supplier for enterprise AI buildouts.
Apple, by contrast, remains a smartphone juggernaut but has matured into more of a defensive play. Its loyal customer base and strong services ecosystem provide stability, yet slowing iPhone growth and market saturation have tempered upside.
Dell’s evolution and exposure to AI-driven demand have delivered explosive earnings growth off a lower valuation base — fueling a rally few investors would have predicted.
Dell’s pivot by the numbers
Dell’s shift toward infrastructure solutions couldn’t have come at a better time, as demand for its PCs, notebooks, and consumer hardware has slumped in recent years.
In fiscal 2023, the company reported $102.3 billion in revenue, up 1.1% from the prior year. By fiscal 2024, that figure had dropped to $88.4 billion, largely because of weakness in the PC and notebook segment.
By contrast, infrastructure solutions — covering servers, storage, and networking — remained resilient.
The rebound began in fiscal 2025, with revenue climbing back to $95.6 billion. Infrastructure solutions were the clear growth engine, with sales in that segment rising 22% year-over-year. The company expects revenue to grow by another 8% for fiscal 2026.
“Our prospects for AI are strong, as we extend AI from the largest cloud service providers, into the enterprise at-scale, and out to the edge with the PC. The deals we’ve booked with xAI and others puts our AI server backlog at roughly $9 billion as of today,” said Jeff Clarke, Dell’s vice chairman and chief operating officer.
Dell shares currently trade around $132, supported by a string of analyst upgrades. JPMorgan Chase raised its price target to $145 with an Overweight rating, while Daiwa Capital Markets lifted its target to $140 from $125.
Sixteen other analysts have given Dell shares a “Buy” rating.
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