Buying EMC laid the groundwork for Dell's leadership in AI servers. By Angela Palumbo

Many critics, including Barron's , accused Michael Dell, 61, and his partners of shortchanging other investors when they took Dell private in a leveraged buyout in 2013.

Today, however, Dell Technologies holders are cleaning up as the one-time PC maker thrives in the artificial-intelligence infrastructure business. The transformation owes in large part to an acquisition the CEO spearheaded about 10 years ago, when Dell acquired EMC, a data-storage and cloud-computing company, for about $67 billion. The merger helped Dell become a critical player in the AI infrastructure layer.

Dell is benefiting from seemingly insatiable demand for equipment needed to power AI. AI-optimized servers generated revenue of $16.1 billion in the first quarter, a 757% increase from the prior year. Total revenue for the period was $43.8 billion, a record and an increase of 88% from the prior year.

Dell stock has been on a tear. Shares are up more than 250% in the past 12 months, trouncing the S&P 500's 25% gain.

Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 19, 2026 21:31 ET (01:31 GMT)

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