Dell’s AI – As AI infrastructure demand accelerates, Dell Technologies is carrying that momentum in record AI orders, shipments, and backlog—fueling expectations for a major revenue jump in fiscal 2027. Snowflake, meanwhile, shows strong customer and product adoption, but
By the time the market tried to look past the numbers, one stock kept flashing in big, blunt figures: Dell Technologies’ AI backlog.
Dell closed fiscal 2026 with $113.5 billion in revenues. up 19% year over year. and a surge in AI-related orders and shipments that largely drove the performance. The company closed $64.1 billion in AI orders, shipped $25.2 billion, and exited the year with a record $43 billion in AI backlog. Even the fiscal fourth quarter landed with heavy weight: $34.1 billion in AI orders and $9.5 billion in AI server shipments.
Snowflake is not a shrinking story. In fact, it has been pulling in customers and expanding its AI product footprint fast. But the contrast between the two companies is starting to feel like a question of timing: Dell’s AI infrastructure momentum is showing up as scale and backlog. while Snowflake’s growth story is being pulled through margins and competitive pressures.
Snowflake’s latest quarter leaned into retention and new customer growth. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, it posted a net revenue retention rate of 125%. It added 740 net new customers, up 40% year over year. Snowflake now has 733 customers spending more than $1 million annually. up 27% year over year. and 56 customers spending more than $10 million annually. up 56% year over year.
Its AI-driven products are also gaining traction. Snowflake Intelligence. which provides enterprise-grade agent capabilities. has been adopted by more than 2. 500 accounts within three months of its launch—nearly doubling quarter over quarter. Cortex Code. a transformational coding agent. has been embraced by more than 4. 400 customers. aimed at enabling faster development and deployment of AI-powered applications.
Snowflake also pointed to product expansion aimed at becoming a kind of “control plane” for agentic enterprise workflows. In April 2026, it announced major updates to Snowflake Intelligence and Cortex Code. The updates are described as advancing the company’s vision so businesses can connect data. tools. and AI systems seamlessly. letting intelligent agents automate workflows and deliver deeper. context-driven insights. The enhancements also expand AI-powered development capabilities for building, managing, and scaling enterprise AI within existing ecosystems.
Even Snowflake’s near-term sales expectation sits firmly in growth territory. For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, it expects product revenues in the range of $1.262-$1.267 billion, a projection range that indicates year-over-year growth of 27%.
Dell’s outlook is even more direct about what it expects AI to do next. It expects AI revenue to double to $50 billion in fiscal 2027, supported by substantial backlog and ongoing customer demand. For the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Dell expects revenues between $34.7 billion and $35.7 billion. with the midpoint of $35.2 billion suggesting 51% year-over-year growth.
Dell is also describing the ramp as something it can manage. The company is investing in next-generation technologies such as the Vera Rubin architecture and expects a smoother transition and continued margin stability as these new platforms ramp up.
What makes the gap feel sharp is how the market has been trading the two names recently. In the year-to-date period, Snowflake shares have plunged 25.1%, underperforming Dell’s shares, which have surged 89.1%.
The difference in pricing appears tied to where each company’s story is landing. Dell’s outperformance is attributed to strong demand for AI servers. driven by ongoing digital transformation and heightened interest in generative AI applications. Snowflake’s decline is tied to free cash flow margin headwinds. Specifically. the company’s free cash flow margin faced a 150-basis-point headwind in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 due to the Observe acquisition.
Competition is another weight on Snowflake’s near-term picture. The material points to stiff competition and says Snowflake’s margins are impacted by the lower margin profile of new AI products and potential infrastructure costs associated with supporting AI-driven initiatives.
When investors look at valuation and earnings estimates, the contrast continues.
Snowflake shares are described as overvalued, suggested by a Value Score of F, while Dell shares are described as cheap, suggested by a Value Score of B. Forward 12-month Price/Sales is also framed as uneven: Snowflake is trading at 9X, higher than Dell’s 1.08X.
Earnings expectations add another layer. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Snowflake’s fiscal 2027 earnings is pegged at $1.81 per share. unchanged over the past 30 days. indicating a 44.80% increase year over year. For Dell. the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 earnings is pegged at $12.83 per share. up a penny over the past 30 days. indicating a 24.56% increase year over year.
Both companies carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.
The bottom line in this standoff is less about who has better products and more about what the market believes will convert into momentum. The case for Dell rests on stronger earnings momentum. diversified growth drivers. and record AI backlog pointing to continued upside as AI infrastructure demand grows. The case for Snowflake acknowledges robust adoption—especially across Snowflake Intelligence and Cortex Code—but keeps the pressure on macroeconomic uncertainties. rising AI costs. stiff competition from hyperscale cloud providers. and stretched valuation.
At the moment, Dell’s AI orders, shipments, and backlog are reading like the clearest bridge from demand to results. Snowflake’s customer and product growth is real too. The tension now is whether Snowflake can convert that speed into margin and cash flow strength fast enough to reverse the market’s sharper reaction—while Dell builds the next leg on a pile of commitments already on hand.
Dell Technologies DELL Snowflake SNOW AI infrastructure AI servers AI backlog Snowflake Intelligence Cortex Code Observe acquisition fiscal 2027 earnings