NEW YORK, Jan 7, 2026, 19:14 EST — After-hours
Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) shares fell 3.1% to $120.07 in after-hours trade on Wednesday, down $3.87 from the prior close after touching a session low of $118.75. About 10.3 million shares changed hands; the S&P 500 tracker SPY slipped 0.3% while the Nasdaq 100 tracker QQQ edged up 0.1%.
The drop lands as Dell tries to reset its consumer and gaming story at the CES trade show and investors argue over a familiar squeeze: higher parts costs, soft demand, and uneven pricing power in PCs.
At CES in Las Vegas, Dell said it would bring back the XPS brand with new XPS 14 and XPS 16 laptops, tease an XPS 13 later this year, expand Alienware’s notebook range and roll out two UltraSharp monitors, including a 52-inch 6K model aimed at professional users. “We’re getting back to our roots with a renewed focus on consumer and gaming,” chief operating officer Jeff Clarke said. 1
Dell also signaled it is easing off the “AI PC” sales pitch as it tries to get buyers to upgrade for more basic reasons like speed and battery life. “They’re not buying based on AI,” Kevin Terwilliger, Dell’s head of product, said in an interview with PC Gamer, referring to consumers; Dell’s new devices include an NPU, a neural processing unit that speeds up on-device AI tasks. 2
The timing is awkward for hardware makers because memory prices are rising again. NAND flash and DRAM — memory chips used in PCs and phones — have already risen 40% to 50% and are expected to keep climbing, Barron’s reported; Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani kept an “Outperform” rating on Dell with a $180 target price, arguing the company has more room to pass through cost increases. 3
Dell’s pitch leans on its mix of business customers, where purchasing cycles can be steadier and price moves can stick longer than in consumer PCs. That still leaves little margin for error if component inflation outruns what the channel will take.
A slower corporate refresh cycle would make that bet harder. If memory costs rise faster than Dell can reprice systems, margins could take the hit and the CES line-up could end up as noise rather than orders.
The next hard catalyst is earnings: Dell is scheduled to report fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results on Feb. 26, with a webcast set for 3:30 p.m. CST, according to its investor calendar. Traders will be listening for how Dell frames component costs and demand for PCs, storage and AI-related hardware into the spring. 4
