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Yes—with an important qualification. Dell’s fiscal second-quarter 2027 results show its Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) growing much faster than its Client Solutions Group (CSG), led by AI-optimized servers. PCs are still growing, and traditional servers, networking and storage also contribute substantially, so Dell has not abandoned the PC business.
What Dell reported for fiscal Q2 2027
Dell announced its fiscal second-quarter 2027 results on September 1, 2026, for the quarter ended July 31, 2026. Total revenue was $47.0 billion, up 58% year over year.
| Business or category | Q2 FY2027 revenue | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) | $31.8 billion | Up 89% |
| AI-optimized servers | $16.4 billion | Up 100% |
| Traditional servers and networking | $10.5 billion | Up 122% |
| Storage | $4.9 billion | Up 26% |
| Client Solutions Group (CSG) | $15.0 billion | Up 20% |
| Commercial clients | $13.2 billion | Up 22% |
| Consumer clients | $1.8 billion | Up 7% |
ISG therefore supplied roughly two-thirds of quarterly revenue and expanded at more than four times CSG’s reported growth rate. That difference—not a collapse in PC sales—is why servers are the current growth engine.
How much of the growth is specifically AI?
AI-optimized server revenue reached $16.4 billion, doubling from the comparable period. Dell also reported $60.9 billion in quarterly AI orders, $95 billion in ending AI backlog and $131.7 billion of AI server orders over the prior 12 months.
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These figures describe different stages of business activity:
- Revenue is what Dell recognized during the quarter.
- Orders are customer commitments placed during the period; they are not automatically quarterly sales.
- Backlog is contracted or accepted business remaining to be delivered and recognized later. The cited results do not establish how quickly the $95 billion backlog will convert, how concentrated it is among customers, or its cancellation exposure.
Consequently, the backlog and order totals should not be added to revenue or presented as guaranteed future sales.
Servers are broader than AI accelerators
Dell’s infrastructure growth is not synonymous with GPU systems. AI-optimized servers were the largest highlighted category, but traditional servers and networking grew even faster in percentage terms—122%—to $10.5 billion. Storage added $4.9 billion and grew 26%.
Dell COO Jeff Clarke said on the September 1, 2026 earnings call, “AI is an important catalyst, but the opportunity extends well beyond AI optimized infrastructure.” He also said customers are modernizing data centers for “both AI and non-ai workloads.” Dell’s explanation is management’s account rather than independent proof of each cause.
Why Dell says traditional demand is rising
- Existing customers are refreshing data centers.
- Security and resiliency requirements are prompting new infrastructure spending.
- CPU capacity is being added for AI and agentic workloads that do not run exclusively on accelerator systems.
- Networking and storage must scale alongside new compute deployments.
The company’s SEC filing similarly attributed ISG growth chiefly to AI-optimized servers, with additional contributions from traditional servers and networking and storage. It noted that higher server and networking average selling prices and richer configurations affected growth.
What is happening to Dell’s PC business?
PCs are growing, just more slowly than infrastructure. CSG revenue increased 20% to $15.0 billion. Commercial clients rose 22% to $13.2 billion, while consumer revenue rose 7% to $1.8 billion.
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Commercial demand is therefore materially stronger than consumer demand, but both categories expanded year over year. The results do not support saying Dell has exited PCs or that every new dollar comes from AI servers.
Reuters reported that Dell raised prices on some products, including PCs, amid memory-chip shortages. That is outside context from contemporaneous reporting, not a disclosed breakdown of Dell’s segment growth.
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Orders, backlog and guidance: do not confuse the measures
Dell raised its full-year FY2027 revenue guidance to $192 billion and its AI-optimized server revenue guidance to $74 billion. These are management forecasts, not revenue already earned.
| Measure | Reported amount | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 FY2027 total revenue | $47.0 billion | Revenue recognized in the quarter |
| Q2 AI orders | $60.9 billion | Orders booked during the quarter |
| Ending AI backlog | $95 billion | Remaining contracted or accepted demand at quarter end; timing and risk are not disclosed here |
| FY2027 revenue guidance | $192 billion | Management’s revised full-year forecast |
| FY2027 AI-optimized server guidance | $74 billion | Management’s revised full-year category forecast |
At the February 26, 2026 FY2026 release, Dell’s earlier FY2027 guidance was a $140 billion midpoint for total revenue and roughly $50 billion for AI-optimized server revenue. The September revision reflects a changed outlook; it does not mean those additional sales had already occurred.
What is driving the infrastructure surge?
Dell said demand was broadening across neocloud providers, sovereign customers and enterprises, and that its AI customer count had passed 6,500. The company presents engineering capability, deployment expertise, supply-chain scale and customer reach as competitive strengths.
Reuters identified Nscale and CoreWeave among AI cloud providers seeking Dell systems. That reporting helps explain customer mix but does not provide an independent forecast of Dell’s future revenue.
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The SEC filing also provides an important counterweight to a simple “all growth is AI” interpretation: lower Corporate and other revenue, including lower VMware resale revenue after Dell stopped distributing standalone VMware offerings, partly offset the company-wide increase. The first-half gross-margin rate was pressured by the shift toward AI-optimized servers, partly offset by disciplined pricing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What “growth engine” means—and what it does not
It means faster growth and larger current contribution
ISG’s $31.8 billion of quarterly revenue and 89% growth exceeded CSG’s $15.0 billion and 20% growth. AI-optimized servers alone generated $16.4 billion and grew 100%. On those reported measures, infrastructure is the dominant expansion engine.
It does not mean PCs are irrelevant
CSG still generated $15.0 billion in the quarter, and both commercial and consumer clients grew. Dell continues to operate a sizable PC business even as its mix and investment emphasis shift toward data-center infrastructure.
It does not mean every infrastructure dollar is AI
Traditional servers, networking and storage together accounted for $15.4 billion in quarterly revenue. Dell’s own explanation includes data-center refreshes, security, resiliency and general compute demand in addition to AI deployments.
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- How much of the $95 billion AI backlog will be recognized in each future quarter.
- How concentrated the backlog and orders are among customers.
- How much business could be delayed or canceled.
- Whether current AI infrastructure growth rates will persist after customers complete initial build-outs.
- Independent market-share or external forecast data for the reported period.
Those limits make the growth-engine conclusion strong for the reported quarter but less certain as a long-term prediction.
Bottom line
Dell’s latest results justify saying servers—not PCs—are its main growth engine in the AI era. Infrastructure revenue grew 89% versus 20% for PCs, and AI-optimized server revenue doubled. The complete picture is broader: traditional servers, networking and storage are major contributors, PCs are still expanding, and Dell’s large order and backlog figures remain separate from recognized revenue and future guidance.
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