Dell

Dell in brief

• Rank: #62 of 100 in America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026; #13 of 17 in Technology & Digital.
• WCRC Power Score: 71.92 out of 100.
• Founded: 1984, by Michael Dell.
• Owner: Dell Technologies Inc., Round Rock, Texas.
• Leadership: Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO.
• Latest revenue: $113.5bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan, +18.8%), as per company filings.

What makes Dell powerful

Dell built its name selling PCs directly to customers, and that habit of close, practical service still defines the brand. Offices, schools and governments rely on Dell laptops, desktops, servers and storage, and its commercial PC business grew 22% in the second quarter of fiscal 2027.

The bigger story now is AI. Businesses and cloud providers building data centers have turned to Dell for the servers that run AI models. In fiscal 2026 Dell booked more than $64 billion in AI-optimized server orders and shipped more than $25 billion of them. Over the 12 months to mid-2026 it booked more than $130 billion in AI server orders. That has turned a PC brand into one of the main suppliers of the hardware behind the AI build-out.

Over the 12 months to mid-2026, Dell booked more than $130 billion in AI server orders, according to COO Jeff Clarke.

Why Dell ranks #62

Dell sits at #62 with a WCRC Power Score of 71.92, just behind Jack Daniel's and Goldman Sachs and just ahead of Target and HP. It beats its old rival HP on product and innovation and on financial strength, thanks to its lead in AI servers. It trails Goldman Sachs and Jack Daniel's slightly on positioning and recall, since Dell is a practical, trusted supplier more than a name that stirs emotion. The gap between all four brands is small.

The Achilles' heel

Dell's weak point is cost. The AI server boom has pushed demand for components beyond supply, raising input costs and squeezing hardware margins. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 Dell's gross margin was 20.5%, held down by a shift toward lower-margin AI servers. Dell repriced servers and open PC quotes to reflect higher costs. If chip costs rise faster than Dell can pass them on, or if AI spending cools, the brand's growth engine could stall.

The 2026 story

Dell's 2026 has been defined by AI demand. On 26 February it reported fiscal 2026 results, saying it had closed more than $64 billion in AI server orders and entered the new year with a record backlog of $43 billion. Its shares jumped about 20% the next day. The surge continued into mid-year. In its second quarter of fiscal 2027, Dell booked $60.9 billion in AI server orders, and its AI server backlog reached $95 billion. Its PC business also recovered, with client revenue up 20% from a year earlier.

Pillar profile

Provisional desk scores out of 100, for the WCRC Business Intelligence Unit to validate.

Versus its nearest rivals

Questions people ask

Also featured in

• Most powerful Technology & Digital brands
• Biggest American Brands by Revenue
• Most powerful brands in Texas

Key facts

Sources

• Annual report (Form 10-K) and financial results of Dell Technologies Inc. filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
• Company website, official announcements and press releases
• Published interviews and statements by the leadership
• WCRC Business Intelligence Unit research: consumer sentiment, ratings and reviews, search demand, media and social data