May 10, 2026
Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) stock hit an all-time high of $263.99 on Friday, May 8, surging as much as 14.6% intraday after President Donald Trump used a Mother's Day event at the White House to thank the Dell family by name and tell Americans to "go out and buy a Dell." (1)
Company shares closed at $260.46, up roughly 12%, capping its best week in more than two years. DELL is now up 107% year-to-date. (1, 2)
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The endorsement comes five months after Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to fund "Trump Accounts" — one of the largest philanthropic commitments to a sitting president's signature program in recent memory. (3)
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A massive contribution
On Dec. 2, 2025, the Dells announced they would deposit $250 into investment accounts for 25 million American children age 10 and under, targeting kids in ZIP codes with median family incomes of $150,000 or less. (3, 4) The pledge is more than double than the Dells' total reported giving since 1999. (4)
The donations will flow into Trump Accounts, a federal wealth-building program created under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that launches July 4, 2026. The Treasury Department will seed $1,000 into accounts for U.S. citizen children born between January 2025 and December 2028; the Dells' contribution gives $250 to kids born before that cutoff who otherwise wouldn't qualify. (3, 4)
Michael Dell said the gift was about giving children "a financial headstart" tied to long-term stock market exposure. (4) Dell currently ranks as the world's seventh-richest person at roughly $165 billion according to Bloomberg (5).
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Why the stock move matters
Friday's pop wasn't just because of Trump’s gratitude. Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh raised his price target on Dell to $260 from $215 on May 6 — two days before the White House event — citing expanding enterprise demand tied to AI infrastructure. (6) Bank of America also raised its target to $246 from $205 on April 27, and Citigroup moved to $235 from $180 on April 21. (6)
Dell's fundamentals look strong right now. The company booked more than $64 billion in AI orders during fiscal 2026 and entered fiscal 2027 with a record $43 billion server backlog. Management expects AI server revenue to roughly double to $50 billion this year. (7)
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That said, separating the Trump-driven pop from the earnings-driven trend matters for anyone considering an entry at all-time highs. Dell reports Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings on May 28. (1)
Will Trump keep endorsing stocks?
This isn't the first time a Trump social media post or public comment has moved a stock in 2026.
On April 30, Trump posted on Truth Social: "Intel Stock continues to rise… Congratulations to Intel on doing such a great job." Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) jumped roughly 3% in after-hours trading. (8) The U.S. government holds a 9.9% stake in Intel acquired in August 2025 — an $8.9 billion position now worth more than $41 billion. Intel is up roughly 140% year-to-date. (8, 9)
Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) saw a similar bump after a Trump endorsement earlier this year.
The U.S. government owns a piece of Intel. Palantir is a major federal contractor. The Dells gave $6.25 billion to Trump Accounts. But what's consistent is the market reaction. A presidential endorsement — Truth Social post or White House remark — is increasingly moving stocks.
Dell stands out: the President publicly urged Americans to buy from a company whose founder is the largest private backer of his signature program. The White House hasn't said whether the endorsement was coordinated with December's gift.
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What investors should ask
The investment thesis for Dell stood on its own before Friday, thanks to its AI infrastructure play. Wall Street analysts had already been raising targets, and the backlog and order numbers come straight from Dell's own SEC filings. (7) Trump's comment didn't create the rally — it accelerated it.
The harder question for anyone buying at $264: how much of today's price is the AI infrastructure story, and how much is a presidential endorsement that may or may not repeat? May 28 earnings will give the next data point.
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Yahoo Finance (1); Macrotrends (2); NPR (3); CNBC (4); Bloomberg Billionaires Index (5); MarketBeat (6); U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (7); CNBC (8); Intel Newsroom (9)
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Rudro is an Editor with Moneywise. His work has appeared on Yahoo Finance, MSN, MSN Money, Apple News, Samsung News and the San Diego Union Tribune.
