Dell Rides on the AI Wave to New Record High

This photograph shows Dell Technologies' logo during the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 28, 2024. (AFP)
This photograph shows Dell Technologies' logo during the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 28, 2024. (AFP)
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Dell Rides on the AI Wave to New Record High

This photograph shows Dell Technologies' logo during the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 28, 2024. (AFP)
This photograph shows Dell Technologies' logo during the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 28, 2024. (AFP)

Dell Technologies shares surged 25% to hit a record high on Friday, following an upbeat annual forecast that indicated the tech equipment maker was benefiting from the AI boom.

The stock climbed to $118.8, and was set to add $17.7 billion to the company's market value and on track to register its best intra-day performance.

The surge provides further evidence that rising AI adoption is driving gains across enterprise technology vendors, and adds to the frenzy on Wall Street following Nvidia's stunning rally.

"We have positioned ourselves well in AI," COO Jeff Clarke said on Thursday, noting that more customers were demanding PCs and servers with AI capabilities.

Orders for the company's AI-optimized servers, including the flagship PowerEdge XE9680, jumped 40% sequentially in the fourth quarter, Clarke said.

At least nine brokerages raised their price targets on Dell after the results. Currently, over three-fourths of the analysts have a "buy" or higher rating with a median target price of $113.

More than 31 million Dell shares had changed hands as of 10:40 a.m. Eastern time, more than seven times the stock's 30-day average trading volume.

"Dell's AI business showed strong progress on key metrics... commentary on the PC market was similar to HP's: that a rebound is coming, but it is being pushed out to the second half of the year," said analysts at Bernstein.

PC and enterprise technology vendor HP's sales declined for a seventh straight quarter in the most recent three-month period.

The recent upside in the business comes after Dell struggled for most part of the last two years as worldwide computer sales sharply declined. While revenue fell less-than-expected in its fourth quarter, annual revenue dropped for the first time since re-listing in 2018.

Dell forecast revenue between $91 billion and $95 billion for its current fiscal year ending January 2025, largely above analysts' average estimate of $92.07 billion.



No Need for One Country to Control Chip Industry, Taiwan Official Says

Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo
Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo
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No Need for One Country to Control Chip Industry, Taiwan Official Says

Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo
Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

There is no need for one country to control the semiconductor industry, which is complex and needs a division of labour, Taiwan's top technology official said on Saturday after US President Donald Trump criticized the island's chip dominance.

Trump repeated claims on Thursday that Taiwan had taken the industry and he wanted back in the United States, saying he aimed to restore US chip manufacturing.

Wu Cheng-wen, head of Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council, did not name Trump in a Facebook post but referred to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's comments on Friday that the island would be a reliable partner in the democratic supply chain of the global semiconductor industry, Reuters reported.

Wu wrote that Taiwan has in recent years often been asked how its semiconductor industry had become an internationally acclaimed benchmark.

"How did we achieve this? Obviously, we did not gain this for no reason from other countries," he said, recounting how the government developed the sector from the 1970s, including helping found TSMC (2330.TW), now the world's largest contract chipmaker, in 1987.

"This shows that Taiwan has invested half a century of hard work to achieve today's success, and it certainly wasn't something taken easily from other countries."

Each country has its own speciality for chips, from Japan making chemicals and equipment to the United States, which is "second to none" on the design and application of innovative systems, Wu said.

"The semiconductor industry is highly complex and requires precise specialization and division of labour. Given that each country has its own unique industrial strengths, there is no need for a single nation to fully control or monopolise all technologies globally."

Taiwan is willing to be used as a base to assist "friendly democratic countries" in playing their appropriate roles in the semiconductor supply chain, Wu said.