Chapter 5 · Behind the Numbers
The year, in Dell's
own words.
Management's framing of what just happened — and what it's watching.
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✦ The bottom line
Anyone can read the revenue line. The story — why it moved, what's driving it, what's next — is the part Dell narrates itself. Seven threads from the year.
↓ the brief below
✦ Seven threads from the Q4 FY26 earnings release
1
A record year.
Revenue grew 19% to a record $113.5 billion, with record EPS and record operating cash flow of more than $11 billion.
2
AI servers are the story.
Dell shipped over $25 billion of AI-optimized servers for the year and entered the new year with a record $43 billion backlog.
3
And it's accelerating.
Management guided AI-optimized server revenue to roughly $50 billion next year — up 103% — more than doubling.
4
The infrastructure half took over.
ISG (servers and storage) revenue grew 40% to $60.8 billion, overtaking the PC business as Dell's larger segment.
5
PCs are steady, not exciting.
CSG (the PC business) revenue rose 5% to $51.0 billion, but its operating income fell 5% — a mature, thin-margin business.
6
Margins are the trade-off.
Overall gross margin stayed near 20%; AI servers add far more to revenue than to profit, so the bottom line grows slower than the top.
7
Returning cash, raising the dividend.
Dell returned about $7.5 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends and raised its dividend.
Source · 8-K · Item 2.02 — earnings release, segment results & outlook · Q4 FY26 / FY2026 · Filed Feb 26, 2026