Overview
- U.S. indexes closed higher on Thursday as strength in technology stocks lifted the broader market and investor focus shifted to company-specific news.
- Dell reported $24.4 billion in AI-related orders, raised its fiscal 2027 AI-server revenue outlook to $60 billion and boosted full-year revenue and adjusted EPS guidance, moves that sent its shares sharply higher.
- Reports said Dell’s subsidiary won a multi-year Pentagon software procurement deal valued near $9.7 billion, a contract that would expand its government work and support its elevated revenue forecast.
- Super Micro’s stock rose after Taiwanese authorities detained people tied to alleged fraudulent exports of AI servers, a separate enforcement action from the U.S. probe into alleged Nvidia chip smuggling that keeps the shares volatile.
- Smaller and idiosyncratic stories drove big swings in other names: Unusual Machines surged on heavy retail interest, Virgin Galactic won preliminary court approval for a $2.75 million insurer-funded settlement of derivative suits, and Costco posted stronger-than-expected quarterly sales that underscored consumer resilience.