Dell Technologies reported $23.4 billion in revenue for its first quarter of fiscal 2026, up 5% year over year, in results announced May 29, 2025. The quarter paired strong growth in servers and networking with a steep decline in consumer revenue and pressure on gross margin. It is a historical report, not Dell’s latest performance: Dell later reported $113.5 billion in fiscal 2026 revenue, up 19%.
What the $23.4 billion headline covers
The figure is Dell Technologies Inc.’s consolidated revenue for Q1 FY2026, not profit and not revenue from PCs alone. Dell announced the results on May 29, 2025; “up 5%” compares the quarter with the same quarter a year earlier, not with the immediately preceding quarter. Dell’s fiscal-year labels do not align exactly with calendar years. Dell’s earnings release provides the reported figures.
Headline financial results
| Measure | Q1 FY2026 result | Year-over-year change or context |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $23.4 billion | Up 5% |
| GAAP operating income | $1.2 billion | Up 21% |
| Non-GAAP operating income | $1.7 billion | Up 10% |
| GAAP diluted EPS | $1.37 | Flat |
| Non-GAAP diluted EPS | $1.55 | Up 17% |
| Cash flow from operations | $2.8 billion | Record first-quarter level, according to Dell |
| Capital returned to shareholders | $2.4 billion | Record quarterly amount, according to Dell |
GAAP and non-GAAP figures are different measures, so they should not be compared as if they were calculated on the same basis. Dell’s earnings-call transcript notes that management’s discussion included non-GAAP measures and points to reconciliations in the earnings materials: Q1 FY2026 earnings-call transcript.
Infrastructure was the strongest growth engine
Dell’s Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG), which includes servers, networking and storage, generated $10.3 billion in revenue, up 12% year over year. Its operating income rose 36% to $1.0 billion.
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Servers, networking and storage
- Servers and Networking: $6.3 billion in revenue, up 16% and a first-quarter record.
- Storage: $4.0 billion in revenue, up 6%.
These results show why the 5% consolidated increase does not tell the whole story: infrastructure grew faster than Dell overall and contributed a larger share of the quarter’s momentum.
AI demand: orders, backlog and shipments are not the same
Dell reported $12.1 billion in AI-server orders during the quarter, $14.4 billion in AI-server backlog at quarter-end and $1.8 billion in AI-server shipments during the quarter. Those figures describe different stages of business, not $14.4 billion of revenue already earned:
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- Orders are customer commitments placed during the period.
- Backlog is orders not yet delivered or recognized as revenue.
- Shipments are products delivered during the period.
- Revenue is recognized under accounting rules and does not necessarily equal orders placed in that quarter.
On the earnings call, management expected to ship approximately $7 billion of AI servers in the following quarter and described its full-year outlook as “15-plus.” These were management expectations at the time, not guarantees of delivery or revenue. Management also said deployments could be lumpy: customers need data-center capacity, power and cooling in place, and complex orders must be coordinated with supply and delivery schedules.
Commercial growth did not mean every PC market was healthy
Dell’s Client Solutions Group (CSG), covering client devices, reported $12.5 billion in revenue, up 5%. The commercial and consumer businesses moved in opposite directions:
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| Client Solutions Group business | Q1 FY2026 revenue | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Client | $11.0 billion | Up 9% |
| Consumer | $1.5 billion | Down 19% |
CSG operating income fell 16% to $653 million. Stronger commercial demand therefore coexisted with a sharp consumer contraction and weaker segment profitability; describing the whole PC business as uniformly strong would miss that split.
Profitability and cash flow add context to revenue growth
Dell’s earnings call reported gross margin of approximately $5.1 billion, or 21.6% of revenue. Gross-margin percentage declined 80 basis points, which management attributed primarily to more competitive pricing in Client Solutions and geographic mix in traditional servers. Operating expenses fell 2% to approximately $3.4 billion; non-GAAP operating income reached $1.7 billion, or 7.1% of revenue, and net income rose 13% to approximately $1.1 billion.
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The mix matters: ISG operating income rose substantially, while CSG operating income declined. Management said AI-server growth could add gross-margin and operating-income dollars, but described the business as lower-margin than some other Dell activities and operationally complex. Component costs, pricing, customer timing and fulfillment can affect the economics, so the backlog alone does not establish how much profit will ultimately be earned.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Dell forecast in May 2025—and what happened later
When Dell issued the Q1 results on May 29, 2025, it gave the following outlook for that time:
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- Designed for easy learning: Energy-efficient batteries and Express Charge support extend your focus and productivity.
- Stay connected to what you love: Spend more screen time on the things you enjoy with Dell ComfortView software that helps reduce harmful blue light emissions to keep your eyes comfortable over extended viewing times.
- Type with ease: Write and calculate quickly with roomy keypads, separate numeric keypad and calculator hotkey.
- Ergonomic support: Keep your wrists comfortable with lifted hinges that provide an ergonomic typing angle.
| Period and measure | May 2025 guidance |
|---|---|
| FY2026 revenue | $101.0 billion–$105.0 billion; $103.0 billion midpoint, about 8% growth at the midpoint |
| FY2026 GAAP diluted EPS | $7.99 midpoint |
| FY2026 non-GAAP diluted EPS | $9.40 midpoint |
| Q2 FY2026 revenue | $28.5 billion–$29.5 billion; $29.0 billion midpoint |
This is historical guidance, not a current forecast. Dell’s investor-relations overview later reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $113.5 billion, up 19%, and lists results announced May 28, 2026 for fiscal 2027’s first quarter as the latest earnings release: Dell investor overview.
Why the quarter mattered to investors
The results offered evidence of substantial demand for Dell’s infrastructure, particularly AI servers, alongside stronger commercial-client revenue. They also showed limits to a simple growth narrative: consumer revenue fell, CSG operating income declined, and gross-margin percentage contracted. The AI order and backlog figures indicated demand, but conversion into shipments and recognized revenue depended on customer readiness and execution. Dell’s $2.4 billion of shareholder returns—through repurchases and dividends—was a separate capital-allocation decision, not a cause of the revenue increase.
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