What happened?
A number of stocks fell in the morning session after AI-linked stocks pulled back as Democratic victories in the U.S. midterm elections continued to fuel investor concerns that tighter regulatory scrutiny will slow data-center expansion, CNBC reported.
The policy headwinds intensified broader unease over heavy capital spending across the technology sector. Tandem Investment Advisors portfolio manager Jordan Watson noted in comments carried by CNBC that the rotation reflects a demand for discipline regarding whether massive infrastructure investments will ultimately yield expected returns.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Hardware & infrastructure company Dell (NYSE: DELL) fell 12.7%. Is now the time to buy Dell? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Hardware & infrastructure company Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) fell 11.5%. Is now the time to buy Hewlett Packard Enterprise? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Hardware & infrastructure company Xerox (NASDAQ: XRX) fell 8.9%. Is now the time to buy Xerox? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Hardware & infrastructure company Super Micro (NASDAQ: SMCI) fell 10.6%. Is now the time to buy Super Micro? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Hardware & infrastructure company HP (NYSE: HPQ) fell 3.5%. Is now the time to buy HP? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming in on Dell (DELL)
Dell’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 50 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Dell and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock dropped 9.5% on the news that Intel warned of a prolonged slump in personal computer demand and forecast steep declines in global shipments. In prepared remarks accompanying its earnings results, Intel Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan projected global personal computer shipments to decline 12% in 2026 and another 10% in 2027, driven by component shortages and increasing memory prices.
Tan explained that the market correction accelerated over the previous two months as original equipment manufacturing partners reduced inventories, warning that the slump could persist through the first half of 2027 until component pricing stabilizes. Notably, preliminary industry figures released from research firms IDC and Counterpoint Research indicated third-quarter global PC shipments fell between 20.1% and 21% year-over-year, which included a 25% plunge for Dell. The severe contraction highlights vulnerability to cyclical downturns in hardware demand and rising component expenses.
Dell is up 160% since the beginning of the year, but at $320.22 per share, it is still trading 45.6% below its 52-week high of $588.40 from September 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Dell’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $5,898.
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