Applied Materials vs. Dell Technologies: Comparing Stable vs. Accelerating Revenue Between These Artificial Intelligence Companies

Dell (DELL) is growing nearly 2.5 times faster than Applied Materials (AMAT), but AMAT keeps far more of every dollar it sells. That gap defines the trade between these two AI-infrastructure plays.

DELL posted Q2 2026 revenue of $47 billion, up 58% year over year. AMAT reported $9.1 billion in revenue, up 25% over the same period. DELL's top line is more than five times larger, and its growth rate is more than double.

Margins tell the opposite story. DELL's gross margin sits at 20.9%, which signals compressed pricing power despite the volume surge. AMAT's gross margin exceeds 50%, reflecting its position as a specialized component supplier rather than a high-volume systems vendor.

Interpretation: the market is effectively choosing between two profiles. DELL offers scale and acceleration with thin per-dollar profitability, so incremental revenue converts to profit at a low rate. AMAT offers slower but steadier growth with a margin structure that is more than twice as rich. Neither figure alone captures earnings power, and DELL's growth rate does not guarantee margin expansion.