US OPEN: Dell soars and keeps pushing tech stocks higher 🚀

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures are up 0.1%, while the Dow Jones is gaining 0.2% ahead of the final trading session of May—a month that has proven to be exceptionally strong for the stock markets. The AI narrative remains the main driver: Dell’s after-hours results literally sent the market soaring and pushed the entire computer industry sharply higher.

Dell reported a nearly ninefold year-over-year increase in AI revenue and raised its full-year guidance to $165–169 billion with EPS of $17.90—well above analysts’ expectations of $142.5 billion and $13.09 in EPS. It is Dell’s results that are driving market sentiment today; Dell joins the ranks of “tech dinosaurs” that have found a second life as AI players, much like Intel, Cisco, and Nokia before them. It is worth noting, however, that Goldman Sachs estimates that pension funds are poised to sell $14 billion worth of shares as part of their monthly rebalancing—the 12th-largest estimate of its kind since at least 2000.

On the sector front, technology and computer hardware are clearly winning: Dell +35%, HPE +17%, NetApp +19%, SMCI +10%, HP +7%. Today’s losers include space companies following the Blue Origin rocket explosion on the launch pad (ASTS -15%, Rocket Lab -5.5%), the apparel sector (Gap -15%, American Eagle -11%), and some cybersecurity firms (SentinelOne -16%).

Source: XTB

Company Information

• Dell (DELL) +35% – An absolute earnings sensation: the company raised its full-year revenue guidance to $165–169 billion (compared to the consensus estimate of $142.5 billion), and revenue from AI servers surged nearly 9x year-over-year. Analysts are calling it a "breakout quarter" and comparing Dell to Intel or Cisco—veteran players who are once again becoming key beneficiaries of the AI boom.

• Gap (GAP) -15%  – The apparel giant lowered its full-year sales growth forecast to 1–2% (previously 2–3%), and Q1 revenue came in at $3.50 billion versus the expected $3.52 billion. The main issue is the struggling Old Navy brand, which weighed on the entire report.

• SentinelOne (S) -16–20% – The cybersecurity company severely disappointed with its Q2 revenue forecast (USD 289–291 million versus the expected USD 292 million) and announced an 8% reduction in full-time headcount – the market reacted with a sharp sell-off.

• AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) -11–15%  – Shares of the space company, a partner of Blue Origin, plummeted after the New Glenn rocket exploded on the launch pad during a ground test on Thursday evening in Florida. EchoStar (-4.5%) and Rocket Lab (-5.5%) also fell in the wake of ASTS.

• NetApp (NTAP) +15–19% and Okta (OKTA) +7–8%  – Both companies surprised the market with better-than-expected results: NetApp posted solid growth in the storage segment and raised its full-year guidance, while Okta—a leader in identity management—raised its full-year revenue guidance and beat consensus on every line item.