DELL Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates: Will Bright FY26 View Lift Shares?

Dell Technologies DELL reported non-GAAP earnings of $2.68 per share in fourth-quarter fiscal 2025, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.93%. The bottom line increased 18% year over year.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.Revenues increased 7% year over year to $23.93 billion but missed the consensus mark by 2.95%. The rise was primarily fueled by a 37% jump in servers and networking revenues, driven by strong demand for AI and traditional servers.Following the results, DELL shares fell 1.14% in the after-hours trading to $106.60, likely led by softness in the Client Solutions Group (CSG) segment and a cautious near-term outlook. The company’s shares have underperformed the Zacks Computer & Technology sector year to date. The stock has lost 7.2% against the sector’s marginal decline of 0.9%.Dell Technologies Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise  Dell Technologies Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Dell Technologies Inc. QuoteHowever, steady growth in infrastructure and AI-driven segments, an optimistic full-year outlook driven by cost-cutting measures, and a growing backlog from major deals present strong investment opportunities for the future.DELL’s Q4 Top-Line DetailsProduct revenues rose 12% year over year to $18.05 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.58%.Services revenues declined 5% year over year to $5.88 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.79%.Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) revenues increased 22% year over year to $11.35 billion.The upside can be attributed to servers and networking revenues of 6.63 billion, which grew 37% year over year, with demand strength across AI and traditional servers. Storage revenues increased 5% year over year to $4.72 billion.Dell's AI prospects remain strong, with AI expanding from major cloud service providers to large-scale enterprise deployments and edge computing with PCs. The AI server backlog has grown to approximately $9 billion, with significant deals, including a near $5-billion agreement to supply Nvidia-powered servers to Elon Musk's xAI.The AI server pipeline has expanded sequentially, achieving growth every quarter since the launch of the XE9680.In the reported quarter, Dell’s AI-optimized server momentum saw an increase of $1.7 billion in orders. The flagship PowerEdge XE9680 experienced strong demand, contributing to the momentum in the AI space.Dell shipped $2.1 billion worth of AI servers in the fiscal fourth quarter and the AI server backlog remained healthy at $4.1 billion.CSG revenues were $11.88 billion, up 1% year over year. Commercial Client revenues increased 5% year over year to $10.0 billion, while Consumer revenues fell 12% to $1.89 billion.DELL’s Operating DetailsThe company’s fiscal fourth-quarter non-GAAP gross profit increased 5% year over year to $5.81 billion. The gross margin contracted 50 basis points (bps) year over year to 24.3%.SG&A expenses fell 12% year over year to $2.75 billion. Research and development expenses increased 8% year over year to $773 million in the reported quarter.Non-GAAP operating expenses declined 6% year over year to $3.14 billion. Operating expenses, as a percentage of revenues, contracted 180 bps on a year-over-year basis to 13.1%.The non-GAAP operating income was $2.67 billion, up 22% year over year. The operating margin expanded 130 bps year over year to 11.2%.The ISG segment’s operating income jumped 44% year over year to $2.05 billion. The CSG segment’s operating income was $631 million, down 19% year over year.DELL’s Balance Sheet & Cash Flow DetailsAs of Jan. 31, 2025, DELL had $3.63 billion in cash and cash equivalents compared with $5.23 billion as of Nov. 1, 2024.Total debt was $24.57 billion as of Jan. 31, 2025, compared with $25.02 billion as of Nov. 1, 2024.The company generated a cash flow from the operation of $585 million. The adjusted free cash flow was $474 million in fourth-quarter fiscal 2025.Dell returned $1.1 billion of capital to its shareholders through $755 million of share repurchases and paid out $311 million in dividends.DELL’s Q1 & FY26 GuidanceFor the first quarter of fiscal 2026, revenues are expected between $22.5 billion and $23.5 billion, with the mid-point of $23 billion suggesting 3% year-over-year growth.Dell anticipates 6% growth at the midpoint for the combined ISG and CSG, with ISG expected to increase in the low-teens and CSG to be flat.Non-GAAP earnings are expected to be $1.65 per share (+/- 10 cents), indicating 25% growth at the mid-point.For fiscal 2026, revenues are expected between $101 billion and $105 billion, with the mid-point of $103 billion indicating 8% year-over-year growth.Dell anticipates 10% growth at the mid-point for ISG and CSG combined, with ISG expected to increase in the high teens and CSG likely to grow in the low to mid-single digits.Non-GAAP earnings are expected to be $9.30 per share (+/- 25 cents), up 14% at the midpoint.Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderDell has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present.CrowdStrike CRWD, Guidewire Software GWRE and Stem STEM are some better-ranked stocks in the broader sector.CrowdStrike, Guidewire Software and Stem each carry a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.CrowdStrike’s shares have gained 11.6% year to date. CRWD is scheduled to release fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results on March 04.Guidewire Software shares have risen 17.9% year to date. GWRE is set to report its second-quarter fiscal 2025 results on March 06.Stem’s shares have fallen 27% year to date. STEM is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2024 results on March 04.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.3% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL): Free Stock Analysis Report Stem, Inc. (STEM): Free Stock Analysis Report Guidewire Software, Inc. (GWRE): Free Stock Analysis Report CrowdStrike (CRWD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks