Jump to content

Dell Technologies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dell Technologies Inc.
TypePublic
IndustryInformation technology
Predecessors
FoundedSeptember 7, 2016; 9 years ago (2016-09-07)
FounderMichael Dell
HeadquartersRound Rock, Texas, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Michael Dell
    (Chairman and CEO)
  • Jeff Clarke
    (Vice chairman and COO)
Products
Services
RevenueIncrease US$113.5 billion (2026)
Increase US$8.149 billion (2026)
Increase US$5.936 billion (2026)
Total assetsIncrease US$101.3 billion (2026)
Total equityDecrease US$–2.47 billion (2026)
OwnerMichael Dell (58.9%)[1]
Number of employees
c. 97,000 (2026)
Divisions
Subsidiaries
Websitedell.com
Footnotes
Financials as of January 30, 2026.[2]

Dell Technologies Inc. is an American multinational technology company that has been headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, since 1994.[3] It was formed as a result of the September 2016 merger of Dell Inc. and EMC Corporation.[4] Dell Technologies ranked 44th on the 2025 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations based on its 2024 revenue;[5] its products include personal computers, servers, monitors, computer software, computer security and network security, as well as information security services.[4]

History

[edit]

Founding

[edit]
Dell–EMC merger wordmark introduced in 2016

In 2013 Dell Inc. had returned to private ownership, claiming that it faced bleak prospects and would need several years out of the public eye to rebuild its business.[6] In the same time period, EMC Corporation, an enterprise software and storage company, was being pressured by Elliott Management Corporation, a hedge fund holding 2.2% of EMC's stock, to reorganize the unusual "Federation" structure, in which EMC's divisions were effectively being run as independent companies. Elliott argued that this structure deeply undervalued EMC's core "EMC II" data storage business, and that increasing competition between EMC II and VMware products was confusing the market and hindering both companies.[7]

On October 12, 2015, Dell announced its intention to acquire EMC in a $67 billion transaction.[8] It was to be the largest acquisition in technology sector history,[9][10] and was backed by major Dell shareholders Michael Dell, Temasek Holdings, and Silver Lake Partners.[11] On the same day as the announcement, the Wall Street Journal estimated that in 2014 Dell had held revenue of $27.3 billion from personal computers and $8.9 billion from servers, while EMC had held $16.5 billion from EMC II, $1bn from RSA Security, $6bn from VMware, and $230 million from Pivotal Software.[12]

The combined business was expected to address the markets for scale-out architecture, converged infrastructure and private cloud computing, playing to the strengths of both EMC and Dell.[13][14] Commentators questioned the deal, with FBR Capital Markets saying that though it makes a "ton of sense" for Dell, it was a "nightmare scenario that would lack strategic synergies" for EMC.[15] Fortune said there was a lot for Dell to like in EMC's portfolio, but "does it all add up enough to justify tens of billions of dollars for the entire package? Probably not."[16] The Register reported the view of William Blair & Company that the merger would "blow up the current IT chess board", forcing other IT infrastructure vendors to restructure to achieve scale and vertical integration.[17] The value of VMware stock fell 10% after the announcement, valuing the deal at around $63–64bn rather than the $67bn originally reported.[18]

The deal was closed on September 7, 2016, and saw EMC rebranded Dell EMC, and the creation of a new parent company, Dell Technologies Inc., which consisted of three main business divisions — the Client Solutions Group, managed by Dell Inc., Infrastructure Solutions Group, managed by Dell EMC, and VMware.[19][20] The marger involved the issuance by Dell of $45.9 billion in new debt, and $4.4 billion of privately placed common stock.[19] EMC had owned 81% of the stock of VMware.[21][22] The acquisition maintained VMware as a separate company, held via a new tracking stock, whilst the rest of EMC was rolled into Dell.[23] Dell paid $24.05 per share of EMC, and $9.05 per share of tracking stock in VMware.[24][25][26] The acquisition required Dell to publish quarterly financial results, having ceased these on going private in 2013.[27] Subsequently, Dell Services, Dell Software Group, and the Dell EMC Enterprise Content Division, were sold shortly thereafter for proceeds of $7.0 billion, which was used to repay debt.[19][2]

Going public

[edit]

On January 29, 2018, it was reported that Dell Technologies was considering a reverse merger with its VMware subsidiary to take the company public.[28] In July, Dell announced intentions to pay $21.7 billion in both cash and stock. Originally, in a deal described as "aggressive",[21] $9 billion in cash was to be pulled from VMware to buy shareholders out of their tracking stock. This offered shareholders 60 cents on the dollar.[29][21] In November, Carl Icahn (who owned 9.3% of Dell) sued the company over the deal.[30] As a result of this pressure from Icahn and other activist investors, the deal was renegotiated, ultimately offering shareholders 80 cents on the dollar ($14 billion total). On December 28, 2018, Dell Technologies Inc. became a public company, with the VMware share buyback enabling them to bypass the traditional IPO process.[31][32]

On April 15, 2021, it was reported that Dell Technologies would spin out the remainder of its VMware shares to shareholders. The two companies would continue to operate without major changes for at least five years.[33]

Investments

[edit]

On November 19, 2015, Dell, alongside Arm Holdings, Cisco Systems, Intel, Microsoft, and Princeton University, founded the OpenFog Consortium, to promote interests and development in fog computing.[34]

In October 2017, It was reported that $1 billion would be invested in IoT research and development.[35][36][37]

In 2018, Dell had a racing partnership with British racing team McLaren, providing processing power to support the large amounts of racing data generated by McLaren's Formula 1 program.[38]

In February 18, 2020, Dell announced their intention to sell RSA Security (acquired in the EMC merger) for $2.075 billion to Symphony Technology Group. In anticipation of the sale, Dell Technologies made the strategic decision to retain the BSAFE product line. RSA transferred BSAFE products (including the Data Protection Manager product) and customer agreements, including maintenance and support, to Dell Technologies on July 1st, 2020. On September 1, 2020, the sale was completed.[citation needed]

In February 2025, Dell sold Secureworks to British cybersecurity vendor Sophos.[39] In December 2025, Dell acquired Israeli data infrastructure startup Dataloop for $120 million in an all cash deal.[40] In 2026, the Pentagon awarded a five-year, $9.7 billion contract to Dell to provide software to the U.S. military.[41][42] The contract's timing came after Dell founder Michael Dell pledged $6.25 billion toward investment accounts for children, titled, "Trump accounts.”[42] The decision was also made just after Trump had bought millions of dollars worth of stock in Dell.[43] In May 2026, OpenAI partnered with Dell Technologies to allow enterprise customers to deploy the AI coding assistant Codex in on-premises and hybrid environments, integrating directly with the Dell AI Data Platform.[44]

Business

[edit]

Dell Technologies has products and services in the field of scale-out architecture, converged infrastructure, private cloud computing,[12][45] and edge computing.[46]

Dell operates under two divisions:[19][47][48]

  • Dell Inc., which includes the Client Solutions Group (55.3% of fiscal 2024 revenues), which produces desktop PCs, notebooks, tablets, and peripherals, such as monitors, printers, and projectors
  • Dell EMC, which includes the Infrastructure Solutions Group (38.3% of fiscal 2024 revenues), which produces servers, storage, and networking

Finances

[edit]

In January 2021, Dell reported $94 billion (equivalent to $107,040,000,000 in 2024) in sales and $13 billion (equivalent to $14,800,000,000 in 2024) operating cash flow during 2020.[21]

By June 2021, Dell Technologies' stock price had reached an all-time high of over US$100 per share, reflecting the company's successful transition to a technology service provider that helps customers navigate digital transformation.[49]

On March 1, 2024, Dell Technologies' stock hit all-time high after earnings. It delivered a strong performance from its artificial intelligence unit that sent shares up nearly 40%, its highest daily gain since the company went public in 2018.[50]

In August 2024, the company announced it would be laying off 12,500 employees—10% of its workforce—in order to invest in artificial intelligence initiatives.[51]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "DELL MICHAEL S - DELL / Dell Technologies Inc. / DELL MICHAEL S Passive Investment - SC 13G/A - February 13, 2024". Archived from the original on February 12, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Dell Technologies Inc. FY 2026 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 16, 2026.
  3. ↑ "An Economic Powerhouse: How Dell Technologies helped change the direction of Round Rock's future". Round Rock. February 21, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Shah, Agam (September 7, 2016). "The new Dell Technologies: 6 things you need to know". PC World. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Fortune 500: 2025 Rankings". Fortune. June 2, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  6. ↑ Thurm, Scott; Sherr, Ian; Benoit, David (March 29, 2013). "Dell Makes Case to Go Private in Grim Filing". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Elliott Management Sends Letter to Board of Directors of EMC Corporation". Archived from the original on March 11, 2025. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  8. ↑ Sawers, Paul (October 12, 2015). "Dell just bought data storage company EMC for $67B". VentureBeat. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Dell agrees $67bn EMC takeover". BBC News. October 12, 2015.
  10. ↑ Womack, Brian; Bass, Dina (October 12, 2015). "Dell to Buy EMC in Deal Worth About $67 Billion". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  11. ↑ Roumeliotis, Greg; Finkle, Jim (October 12, 2015). "Dell to buy EMC in $67 billion record tech deal, aims for cloud market". Reuters. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Clark, Don; Cimilluca, Dana; McMillan, Robert; Clark, Don (October 12, 2015). "EMC Takeover Marks Return of Michael Dell". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  13. ↑ "EMC Takeover Marks Return of Michael Dell". The Wall Street Journal. October 13, 2015.
  14. ↑ "The merger of Dell and EMC stems from the rise of cloud computing". The Economist. October 12, 2015.
  15. ↑ Mike Stone (October 8, 2015). "Dell in talks to buy data storage company EMC: source". Reuters.
  16. ↑ Stacey Higginbotham (October 8, 2015). "A Dell-EMC deal doesn't make sense. Here's why". Fortune.
  17. ↑ "Dell hooking up with EMC and going public again? Come off it". The Register. October 9, 2015.
  18. ↑ Tom Braithwaite (October 13, 2015). "Dell-EMC deal: why VMware is falling". Financial Times.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Document". www.sec.gov. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Branding shift sees EMC take back seat to Dell Technologies". June 20, 2019.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Gara, Antonie. "Deal Of The Century: How Michael Dell Turned His Declining PC Business Into A $40 Billion Windfall". Forbes. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Dell-EMC: The empty shop". Financial Times. October 12, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Dell agrees $63bn acquisition of EMC". Financial Times. October 12, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Dell to Buy EMC for $67 Billion". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  25. ↑ "In Takeover of EMC, Dell Makes Ambitious Bet". The New York Times. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Dell agrees $67bn EMC takeover". BBC News. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  27. ↑ Womack, Brian (October 21, 2015). "Dell CFO Reluctantly Accepts Public Disclosures With EMC Deal". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  28. ↑ "VMware Plunges on Report It May Acquire Dell in Reverse Merger". Bloomberg L.P. January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  29. ↑ Donnell, Carl. "Dell moves to go public, spurns IPO". Reuters. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Carl Icahn sues Dell over plans to go public". The Globe and Mail. November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2025 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  31. ↑ "Dell returns to public markets after 6 years". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Bread Financial's credit sales fall 13% in cooling economy". American Banker. July 27, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  33. ↑ Sharwood, Simon (April 15, 2021). "Dell to spin out remaining VMware stake, cements Friends With Benefits status for at least five years". theregister. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  34. ↑ Janakiram, MSV (April 18, 2016). "Is Fog Computing the Next Big Thing in the Internet of Things". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Dell Technologies creates new IoT division as part of three-year, $1bn investment". businessreviewusa.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Michael Dell Vows to Invest $1 Billion over Three Years to Fund Internet of Things Business". Fortune. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  37. ↑ Moorhead, Patrick. "Dell Technologies IQT: Doubling Down On The Internet Of Things". Forbes. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  38. ↑ Mike, Moore (July 7, 2018). "How Dell Technologies helps McLaren stay one step ahead of the game in the world's fastest sport". TechRadar. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  39. ↑ Alspach, Kyle. "Sophos Closes $859M Acquisition Of XDR Specialist Secureworks". www.crn.com. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  40. ↑ Orbach, Meir (December 17, 2025). "Dell acquires AI data-infrastructure startup Dataloop in $120 million all-cash deal". ctech. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  41. ↑ Tisdall, Simon (August 8, 2026). "kk55". Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  42. 1 2 Downs, Garrett (May 27, 2026). "Dell wins a $9.7 billion Pentagon software deal after donating to Trump accounts". CNBC. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  43. ↑ Lipton, Eric (May 28, 2026). "Dell Gets a $9.7 Billion Defense Contract. Trump's Portfolio Stands to Benefit". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  44. ↑ "OpenAI and Dell Technologies partner to bring Codex to hybrid and on-premises enterprise environments". OpenAI. May 18, 2026. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  45. ↑ "The merger of Dell and EMC stems from the rise of cloud computing". The Economist. October 12, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Edge data is critical to AI — here's how Dell is helping enterprises unlock its value". VentureBeat. November 12, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  47. ↑ "Dell Technologies Inc. FY 2024 Form 10-K Annual Report". www.sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  48. ↑ "Document". www.sec.gov. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  49. ↑ "Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo Finance". Yahoo Finance. Archived from the original on April 28, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  50. ↑ Derek, Saul (March 1, 2024). "This Old-School Tech Stock Just Hit A New All-Time High Thanks To AI". Forbes. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  51. ↑ Ford, Brody (August 5, 2024). "Dell Cuts Workers in Sales Team Reorganization With New AI-Focused Unit". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
[edit]
  • Business data for Dell Technologies Inc.: