Dell Stock Slides as Barclays Flags AI Growth Risks

Dell stock fell about 11.5% on Wednesday and remained under pressure Thursday after Barclays downgraded Dell Technologies to Equal Weight from Overweight and cut its price target from $603 to $574. The move came amid a broader AI data-center sell-off, with higher-than-expected inflation raising concerns about borrowing costs. CoreWeave, Nebius and Oracle shares also declined, while rising yields on some CoreWeave bonds highlighted financing risks for data-center operators. Barclays cited uncertainty about enterprise AI spending and warned that Dell’s growth could slow as memory prices normalize. Higher component costs may be boosting server revenue without a matching rise in unit sales, and AI server operating margins are estimated at about 5%. The bank still forecasts roughly $75 billion in Dell AI server revenue this fiscal year, potentially reaching $100 billion in fiscal 2028. Dell has reported a record $95 billion AI server backlog, while infrastructure revenue rose 89% year over year. The downgrade also covered Hewlett Packard Enterprise and NetApp, reflecting broader concerns about AI demand and elevated technology valuations after a strong rally. Traders will monitor interest rates, memory prices, backlog conversion and data-center financing costs. The news concerns equities rather than cryptocurrencies, but continued pressure on AI and tech stocks could weigh indirectly on broader risk sentiment.