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• Dell’s quarterly earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, driven by strong AI demand.
• The company also raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts.

Dell Technologies shares are surging after the PC and server maker posted earnings that topped analysts’ estimates and hiked its outlook, boosted by booming AI demand.

Dell (DELL) shares were up 15% in recent trading. Dell said after the bell Tuesday it earned an adjusted $7.04 per share in the quarter, more than tripling year-over-year and blowing past the analyst consensus of $4.91 per Visible Alpha. Revenue grew nearly 60% to $46.97 billion, also surpassing expectations for $45.19 billion.

The company’s third-quarter forecasts of $49 billion in sales and adjusted EPS of $6.50 came in well above analysts’ projections. Dell lifted its full-year sales outlook to $192 billion from $167 billion previously, with adjusted EPS seen coming in around $25.50, compared to a prior forecast of $17.90.

Dell said it benefited from a growing AI server business that added $60.9 billion in orders in the quarter, lifting Dell’s total backlog to $95 billion.

Morgan Stanley analysts, lifting their target to $499 from $434, said Dell’s results “make clear that companies are significantly investing in AI.” Still, the analysts cited some concerns with the sustainability of demand, considering Dell’s recent price increases. 

Citi analysts were more bullish, maintaining a “buy” rating and raising their target to $600 from $515, writing that they expect expanding enterprise AI adoption to help sustain Dell’s momentum.

With Wednesday’s gains, Dell shares have nearly quadrupled in value since the start of the year.

This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent prices.

• GitLab shares surged Wednesday after the company posted better-than-expected earnings.
• The company also raised its full-year forecasts.

GitLab shares could be set to add more than 10% of their value in one session.

Shares of GitLab (GTLB) were up nearly 12% in recent trading, after the software development platform reported better-than-expected earnings and raised its outlook.

The software development platform posted revenue of $286.25 million, up 20% year-over-year, along with adjusted earnings of 24 cents per share for the second quarter. Both figures topped analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.  

CEO Bill Staples said the growing use of AI to build software has led to a “significant opportunity” for GitLab to grow its sales, as the company logged a record quarter for gross bookings. GitLab also lifted its full-year sales and profit forecasts.

With Wednesday’s gains, GitLab shares have added a third of their value this year.

This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent prices.

News of the day for Sept. 2, 2026

Stock futures are mixed this morning as the market looks to rebound from a recent slump; Dell shares are surging after the tech giant reported strong results and boosted its forecasts; AI chipmaker Broadcom and database software firm Snowflake are set to report earnings this afternoon; GitLab shares are soaring after a strong quarterly report; and MongoDB stock is tumbling despite solid results. Here’s what you need to know today.

Stock futures are little-changed after major indexes fell yesterday for the third straight session. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the benchmark S&P 500 were recently up 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, while tech-heavy Nasdaq futures slipped 0.1%. The major indexes tumbled Tuesday to kick off of September, typically the weakest month of the year for markets. WTI oil futures were down 1% at $89 per barrel, after surging the previous two days following a new wave of attacks in the Middle East. The 10-year Treasury yield was down slightly at 4.78% recently, after rising to 4.82% earlier this morning, its highest level since late 2023. Yields have surged recently amid concerns about the Iran war, inflation, the outlook for interest rates, and the government’s ability to manage its $40 trillion debt. Gold futures ticked lower to $4,380 an ounce, while bitcoin was trading at $76,700, down from a high yesterday above $79,000.

Dell Technologies (DELL) shares are rallying this morning after the PC and server maker handily topped estimates in its second-quarter report last night. Dell said it earned an adjusted $7.04 per share in the quarter, more than tripling year-over-year and blowing past the analyst consensus of $4.91 compiled by Visible Alpha. Revenue grew by nearly 60% to $46.97 billion, also easily surpassing estimates. The company’s third-quarter forecasts of $49 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $6.50 also beat forecasts. Dell also substantially raised its full-year sales and profit outlooks thanks to a growing AI server business that added $60.9 billion in orders in the quarter, lifting Dell’s total backlog to $95 billion. Dell stock, which has more than tripled in price since the start of the year, was up 9% in recent premarket trading.

Investors will get another pair of updates on the tech sector this afternoon, with results from chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO) and database software provider Snowflake (SNOW). Broadcom is expected to report revenue of $29.49 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.24, both nearly doubling year-over-year amid strong demand for chips used to power AI products. The stock has been under pressure in recent months, erasing gains from earlier in the year amid worries about an AI bubble and Broadcom’s position in the competitive AI chip market. Snowflake is seen reporting revenue of $1.48 billion and adjusted EPS of 45 cents. Shares have rallied this year thanks to strong demand for Snowflake’s new AI software products, soaring more than 35% in one session following its last report in May. Broadcom shares were down slightly premarket, while Snowflake shares fell more than 2%.

Shares of GitLab (GTLB) are soaring this morning after the software development platform topped estimates. GitLab reported revenue of $286.25 million, up 20% year-over-year, along with adjusted earnings of 24 cents per share. CEO Bill Staples said the growing use of AI to build software is leading to a “significant opportunity” for GitLab to grow its sales, as the company logged a record quarter for gross bookings. GitLab also lifted its full-year sales and profit forecasts. GitLab shares were up 25% ahead of the opening bell, putting them on track to hit their highest level since early 2025.

MongoDB (MDB) also beat estimates last night, but its stock is tumbling today. The database provider reported second-quarter revenue of $771.8 million, up 30% from a year ago, while adjusted EPS nearly doubled to $1.90. The company also lifted its full-year forecasts, noting that most of the second-half growth that led to the raised outlook is due to the growth of its Atlas platform. Investors may have been simply hoping for more, or looking for broader growth than just relying on Atlas after the stock rallied nearly 30% since the start of August through Tuesday’s close. MongoDB shares were down 12% recently, set to sink back into negative territory for the year at market open.

• September has historically been a weak month for stocks, with the S&P 500 losing an average of 1.1% during the month since 1928.
• Still, there are reasons to be optimistic about gains ahead, according to analysts.

September has earned a reputation as a tough month for stocks. However, a number of analysts say there’s still reason to be optimistic.

Since 1928, the S&P 500 has lost about 1.1% on average in September, one of just two months with an average decline over that span, according to Yardeni Research. September is the only month of the year that has seen more monthly declines than gains. 

The S&P 500 is also coming off a 2.6% gain in August, which could point to an added hurdle, per CFRA Research. The firm found that the index is even less likely to post a gain in the September of a midterm election year following a positive August.

The month hasn’t kicked off to a promising start so far, with the S&P 500 closing 0.7% lower Tuesday as bond yields surged. The U.S. and Iran have recently been exchanging strikes for the first time in weeks, driving up oil prices and adding fuel to worries that stubborn inflation could raise the chances of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Traders are currently pricing in a nearly 70% chance of a rate hike at this month’s meeting, based on fed fund futures data.

Still, there are some reasons to be optimistic, according to UBS analysts, who wrote recently that they see “robust” AI demand and strong earnings supporting further stock gains. The sector’s recent volatility has created some “attractive entry points” for chipmakers and other AI stocks, the bank wrote.

The S&P 500 is also flashing one signal that could point to the index evading the September effect: where it entered the month in comparison to its 200-day moving average. LPL Financial Chief Technical Strategist Adam Turnquist said in a note Monday that the S&P 500 posts positive returns 60% of the time when it enters September above the 200-day moving average. The index closed out August at 7686, about 7.9% above the 200-day moving average of 7,126.

• Bond yields are surging amid worries about stubborn inflation and rising rates as the war in Iran drags on.
• Expectations of rising rates could pressure the outlook for stocks, especially growth stocks as borrowing becomes more expensive.

The surge in bond yields isn’t a good sign for stocks. 

The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all lost ground Tuesday as bonds sold off, sending yields higher around the globe. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 4.79%, its highest level since January 2025.   

Driving the rise in yields has been a potent cocktail of worries about higher energy prices, stubborn inflation, rate hikes by central banks, growing government debt, and heavy borrowing to finance AI infrastructure that have chipped at investors’ confidence—and may not go away so soon. 

That could weigh on the outlook for the stock market, particularly shares of tech and growth companies, which are more likely to take on debt to finance new developments and could face pressure from higher borrowing costs.

“When the 10-year Treasury yield sustains gains above the 4.3% range, correlation with the S&P 500 turns negative, suggesting that stocks have struggled above this level,” LPL Financial Chief Equity Strategist Jeffrey Buchbinder wrote in a note last week. 

Buchbinder said the firm expects the 10-year yield to fall to the 4% to 4.5% range by the end of the year, but that “we wouldn’t be surprised if yields edged a bit higher,” at least in the short term, given higher energy prices, resilient economic growth, and heavy corporate debt. 

Based on fed fund futures data, traders are currently pricing in a nearly 70% chance that the Federal Reserve lifts interest rates by a quarter-point at its meeting later this month, which would also lead to higher yields. 

• A group of 21 major financial institutions plans to launch a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin by 2027.
• The initiative comes amid renewed interest in cryptocurrency, driven by bitcoin’s recent price surge.
• Tether and Circle currently dominate the stablecoin market, but competition may increase with this move.

Big banks and other financial institutions want to launch their own cryptocurrency. 

A group of 21 firms—including Bank of America (BAC), Capital One (COF), Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Wells Fargo (WFC)—announced Tuesday that they intend to issue a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency that is designed to reflect the value of its referenced asset, in the first half of 2027. The group is set to launch a yet-to-be-named company dedicated to supporting the stablecoin by the end of this year.

The announcement follows renewed interest in crypto, as the price of bitcoin, the world’s largest and most well-known coin, surged in mid-August and closed out the month trading at around $80,000. Though bitcoin has given back a little bit of ground since, the possibility of momentum returning to crypto markets is proving to be a potent lure for businesses, crypto native and otherwise. 

Last October, when the initiative was first announced, the group was about half the size and mostly consisted of large international banks. That’s right around when the price of bitcoin hit an all-time high above $126,000 and then cut in half in the following months. With crypto in a bear market, stablecoins didn’t do much since early October, with their overall circulating supply sitting largely unchanged at just over $300 billion, according to rwa.xyz. 

Tether’s USDT and Circle’s (CRCL) USDC have long dominated the stablecoin market, accounting for nearly 90% of the total value. With major financial services firms now muscling in, it would suggest there could be more pie to go around.

Take A Number: A Striking Figure In Economic News Today

• Some experts believe the U.S. government won’t allow yields on 10-year treasuries to exceed 5%.
• 10-year yields reflect investor concerns about inflation and the national debt.
• Last week, the government signaled its willingness, though not necessarily its ability, to keep yields low by intervening in bond markets.

Some experts think there’s a red line in the U.S. economy, and it’s one we’re awfully close to crossing.

The red line is the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, one of the most important and closely watched figures in the financial world. And there’s evidence the U.S. government is willing to move heaven and earth to prevent it from ever going over the threshold of 5%, according to Chen Zhao, chief global strategist at Oxford Economics.

As of Tuesday, the 10-year note yielded 4.77%. Yields were on the rise Tuesday amid investor concerns about inflation as renewed fighting in Iran pushed up oil prices.

Yields on 10-year treasuries are important because they dictate borrowing costs for all kinds of other loans, including mortgages. The yields also determine how much interest the U.S. government has to pay on the national debt.

They’re also a barometer for confidence in the government’s ability to manage its $40-trillion-and-counting debt, and concerns about inflation. The less confident investors become about the debt and the more worried they get about inflation, the higher yields they demand to compensate for the risk.

If the government actually has a red line about treasury yields over 5%, decision-makers may shy away from policies that stoke inflation or raise spending deficits too much.

Little wonder that the U.S. government is eager to keep that key financial benchmark from rising too high.

Yields have spiked several times this summer amid fears of inflation driven by rising gasoline prices. But last month, the Treasury Department provided proof of its determination to suppress yields, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the government was stepping up its purchases of 10- and 30-year bonds.

And although reaction to the initiative was mixed—bond yields fell at first but later drifted back up—the purchases are set to begin next week.

The episode showed the administration is willing to use any trick up its sleeve to keep bond yields low. Zhao is among those who believe the magic number is 5%. The question is whether the administration can truly keep yields below that red line.

“Treasury has limited resources to buy bonds and therefore has a credibility problem, a key reason why bond yields backed up again shortly after the announcement,” Zhao wrote in a commentary. “However, we should not underestimate the Trump administration’s resolve to defend the bond market. In theory, Treasury can issue an unlimited amount of short-term debt to buy long-dated bonds, effectively suppressing long bond yields to any level it wants.”

• Job openings rose slightly in July, but hiring slowed down nearly to COVID-era levels.
• Employers have avoided mass layoffs but have also shied away from expanding payrolls amid high interest rates and uncertainty stemming from the war in Iran.
• Economists see the job market staying stuck in a low-hiring, low-firing limbo.

The job market in July could be described as “stable” or perhaps “stagnant” depending on whether you’re trying to hold on to a job, get hired, or fill a position.

Economists have called today’s job market a “low-hire, low-fire” environment. You could add “low quit” and “low job openings,” according to a report Tuesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of job openings edged up in July but stayed at 7.3 million, the same as June’s downwardly revised figure, after rounding. Hiring, layoffs, and quitting all declined and stayed near low levels by historic standards.

The low layoff rate could give the Federal Reserve the green light to raise interest rates without fear of stoking unemployment.

The data added more evidence that the labor market is staying resilient against economic shocks such as tariffs and the Iran war, with mass layoffs nowhere to be seen. However, employers are becoming even more reluctant to expand their payrolls.

“The encouraging uptick in hiring in the spring is over,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in a commentary. “Companies are growing cautious as the war in Iran drags on and borrowing costs have spiked.”

The slowdown was especially evident in the hiring rate—the number of hires as a percentage of the total workforce—which fell to 3.2% from 3.4% in June. That’s just a notch above the 3.1% it hit last February.

On the bright side for workers, the layoff rate edged down. However, the quitting rate also ticked down, suggesting workers are finding few opportunities to leave their current jobs for better pay.

Despite the drop-off in hiring, the lack of layoffs could give the Federal Reserve a green light to focus on the inflation half of its dual mandate to keep unemployment low and prices stable. That could clear the way for the central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate at some point this year, possibly as soon as its next meeting in September.

“Overall, the data point to a stable but low-mobility labor market, giving the Fed reason to focus solely on inflation,” Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary.

August was a good month for tech stocks, especially software companies that had slumped earlier in the year.

The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV), America’s largest software ETF, surged 16% last month, compared to the S&P 500’s less than 3% gain over the same period. The State Street SPDR S&P Software and Services ETF (XSW), which hit an all-time high late last week, climbed nearly 15%.

Software giant Salesforce (CRM) was one of the big winners, with shares up about 40% in August. So was data analytics software maker Palantir (PLTR), with a more than 50% rise over the same period. Microsoft (MSFT) added 9%. The month’s moves pulled Microsoft and Palantir into the green for the year, with Salesforce closing in on positive territory after taking a big hit earlier this summer. 

A string of strong earnings have helped, chipping at some of the worries about AI disruption that had been holding the sector back. Palantir shares popped nearly 30% in a single session, the day after a blowout earnings report. Salesforce and Microsoft also saw a big boost after better-than-expected results.

Analysts at Jefferies told clients in a note over the weekend that they see the rally for software continuing into September. “We expect momentum to continue & believe AI displacement fears are overblown,” they wrote.

More earnings from cybersecurity stocks this week could also add to recent optimism around the software sector. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is set to report earnings after the closing bell Tuesday, with Zscaler (ZS) set to follow Thursday.

Wall Street analysts, who are widely bullish on Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler, have said they expect strong results, after rival CrowdStrike (CRWD) last week said it logged its best quarter ever. 

• Novartis shares rose Tuesday after positive results from a trial of its remibrutinib multiple sclerosis drug.
• The company said the drug helped lower relapse rates and reduced adverse effects.

Promising results from a recent clinical trial are boosting Novartis shares this morning.

U.S.-listed shares of Novartis (NVS) were up 6% in recent trading, after the Swiss drugmaker said a Phase 3 clinical trial of its remibrutinib multiple sclerosis drug met its goals.

The company said the drug helped lower relapse rates and reduced adverse effects at a higher rate than a rival treatment.

“Despite advances in treatment, an unmet need remains for oral therapies that can deliver robust relapse prevention, slow disability progression, while maintaining a favorable safety profile,” Novartis Chief Medical Officer Shreeram Aradhye said in a release Tuesday.

The results could boost investor confidence in Novartis’ drug pipeline. Remibrutinib has already been approved to treat chronic spontaneous urticaria, a disorder that causes recurring hives, and is also being evaluated as a potential treatment for other skin and allergy conditions.

Novartis said it plans to present the trial data at an MS conference in Toronto in October.

With Tuesday’s gains, Novartis shares are up 17% since the start of the year, though they are still about 6% off their highs in February.