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Dell Technologies reported $27.005 billion in revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2026, up 11% from $24.366 billion a year earlier. The quarter ended October 31, 2025, and Dell announced the results on November 25, 2025. Infrastructure products—especially servers and networking supporting artificial-intelligence workloads—powered the increase, while consumer PCs and storage were weaker. The result is historical: Dell subsequently reported $33.4 billion in fiscal Q4 2026 revenue and $43.8 billion in fiscal Q1 2027 revenue.
Which quarter does the $27 billion headline describe?
This was Dell’s third quarter of fiscal 2026, not calendar Q3 2025. The quarter ended October 31, 2025; the comparable prior-year quarter ended November 1, 2024. Dell released the figures on November 25, 2025. See the company’s fiscal Q3 2026 announcement.
What increased?
| Measure | Fiscal Q3 2026 | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $27.005 billion | Up 11% |
| Operating income | $2.119 billion | Up 23% |
| GAAP diluted EPS | $2.28 | Up 39% |
| Non-GAAP diluted EPS | $2.59 | Up 17% |
| Operating cash flow | $1.2 billion | Not stated as a growth rate |
The 11% figure is a year-over-year comparison, not sequential growth from Dell’s immediately preceding quarter. GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share are different measures and should not be combined.
Infrastructure was the main growth engine
Dell’s Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) generated $14.1 billion, up 24%. Its servers and networking business produced $10.1 billion, up 37%, reflecting strong demand for systems used in AI and data centers. Storage revenue was $4.0 billion, down 1%, so the infrastructure expansion was not uniform. ISG operating income reached $1.7 billion, up 16%.
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| ISG area | Revenue | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure Solutions Group | $14.1 billion | Up 24% |
| Servers and Networking | $10.1 billion | Up 37% |
| Storage | $4.0 billion | Down 1% |
AI orders were a demand signal, not recognized revenue
Dell said it received $12.3 billion of AI-server orders during the quarter and $30 billion year to date. Management also said its five-quarter AI pipeline was several times larger than its $18.4 billion backlog and raised full-year AI-server shipment guidance to approximately $25 billion, more than 150% above the prior year.
These terms describe different stages of the business:
- Orders are customer bookings or commitments.
- Backlog is ordered work not yet recognized as revenue.
- Shipments are products delivered to customers.
- Revenue is recognized under accounting rules when the applicable performance obligations are satisfied.
Consequently, the $12.3 billion and $30 billion order figures should not be reported as Q3 sales. They indicate potential future revenue, subject to production, delivery, customer acceptance and other execution conditions. Dell’s order and pipeline figures are management-reported indicators.
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PC results were mixed
The Client Solutions Group (CSG) reported $12.5 billion in revenue, up 3%. Commercial Client revenue rose 5% to $10.6 billion, while consumer revenue fell 7% to $1.9 billion. CSG operating income was $748 million, essentially flat year over year.
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|---|---|---|
| Client Solutions Group | $12.5 billion | Up 3% |
| Commercial Client | $10.6 billion | Up 5% |
| Consumer | $1.9 billion | Down 7% |
This split matters: business PC demand was comparatively resilient, but Dell’s consumer computer business contracted even as the company’s total revenue grew.
Revenue grew faster than gross margin
Dell’s operating income rose 23%, but gross-margin percentages declined. GAAP gross margin was 20.7%, down 130 basis points, and non-GAAP gross margin was 21.1%, down 140 basis points. Operating margin nevertheless increased 70 basis points to 7.8%.
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In its Form 10-Q, Dell attributed the gross-margin pressure primarily to product mix shifting toward AI-optimized server offerings. AI systems therefore supported rapid sales and operating-profit growth without producing proportional gross-margin expansion.
Products grew while services declined
Product revenue increased 16%, led mainly by ISG servers and networking and by commercial client products. Services revenue declined 5%, primarily because Corporate and other services revenue fell. Dell cited the absence of standalone VMware resale activity after it stopped distributing those offerings, which complicates comparisons with earlier periods.
What Dell forecast in November 2025
The following were management forecasts issued with the November 25 release, not actual results:
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| Period | Revenue outlook | EPS outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Q4 2026 | $31 billion–$32 billion; midpoint growth about 32% year over year | GAAP about $3.05; non-GAAP about $3.50 |
| Full fiscal 2026 | $111.2 billion–$112.2 billion; midpoint growth about 17% | GAAP about $8.38; non-GAAP about $9.92 |
Dell’s release also reported $31.5 billion as the Q4 revenue midpoint and $111.7 billion as the full-year midpoint.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened after fiscal Q3?
Later results show that the November quarter was an early stage of a much larger AI-infrastructure acceleration, rather than Dell’s eventual revenue peak.
| Subsequent period | Reported result |
|---|---|
| Fiscal Q4 2026 | $33.4 billion quarterly revenue, up 39%; $113.5 billion full-year revenue, up 19%; $11.2 billion full-year operating cash flow; more than $64 billion of fiscal-year AI-optimized server orders, more than $25 billion of shipments and $43 billion of AI backlog entering fiscal 2027. |
| Fiscal Q1 2027 | $43.8 billion revenue, up 88%; ISG revenue $29.0 billion, up 181%; AI-optimized server revenue $16.1 billion, up 757%; CSG revenue $14.6 billion, up 17%. |
For fiscal 2027, Dell later guided to $165 billion–$169 billion of revenue, a $167 billion midpoint, and approximately $60 billion of AI-optimized server revenue. Sources: Dell fiscal Q4 and full-year FY26 results and Dell fiscal Q1 FY27 results.
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- Demand: Infrastructure, servers and networking clearly outperformed PCs, storage and services.
- Profitability: Operating income improved, but AI-heavy product mix reduced gross-margin percentages.
- Cash and capital: Dell reported $1.2 billion of quarterly operating cash flow; its regulatory filing associated higher financing receivables and working-capital levels with increased AI-server demand.
- Execution risk: Orders and pipeline commitments require manufacturing capacity, component availability, financing and customer delivery before becoming revenue.
- Concentration risk: The results do not establish that AI demand will continue indefinitely at the same rate.
As of August 2026, $27.005 billion is not Dell’s latest quarterly revenue figure; it is the fiscal Q3 2026 result announced in November 2025.
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