Salesforce, Dell, Snowflake Earnings to Test AI Spending Thesis

A cluster of major technology firms is set to report quarterly earnings in the week beginning May 24, 2026, providing a critical gauge of enterprise spending on artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure. Salesforce reports after the close on May 28, followed by Dell Technologies on May 29 and Snowflake on May 30. The reports from these bellwethers will test the durability of the AI investment cycle. Seekingalpha.com published the calendar of upcoming results on May 24, 2026.

Context — why this matters now

Technology sector performance has diverged significantly in 2026, with winners concentrated in companies demonstrating clear AI monetization. The Nasdaq Composite is up 9.2% year-to-date, heavily driven by a subset of semiconductor and software names. First-quarter earnings from major cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud showed accelerating growth, suggesting enterprise budgets are shifting rather than shrinking.

The current macro backdrop features the Federal Funds target rate at 4.75%-5.00%, a level held since July 2025. This higher-for-longer rate environment pressures valuations and increases scrutiny on actual profit growth versus speculative narratives. The upcoming reports serve as a catalyst to validate whether promised AI-driven revenue acceleration is materializing in financial statements.

A historical comparable underscores the stakes. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Snowflake shares fell 18% in a single session after reporting a deceleration in product revenue growth to 29% year-over-year. The market punished even strong growth that failed to meet elevated expectations tied to AI workloads. This precedent sets a high bar for the current quarter's guidance.

Data — what the numbers show

Analyst consensus estimates, according to Bloomberg data, set specific benchmarks. For its fiscal first quarter, Salesforce is expected to report revenue of $10.18 billion, representing 9.5% year-over-year growth. Adjusted earnings per share are projected at $2.38. The company's remaining performance obligation, a key forward-looking metric, stood at $55.3 billion at the end of its previous quarter.

Dell Technologies is forecast to report fiscal first-quarter revenue of $22.1 billion, a 4% increase. Importantly, its Infrastructure Solutions Group, which includes AI-optimized servers, is expected to show revenue of $9.2 billion. This compares to the group's revenue of $8.9 billion in the prior quarter. Server demand is a direct indicator of enterprise and hyperscaler capital expenditure.

Snowflake's product revenue consensus for its fiscal first quarter is $1.04 billion, implying 28% growth. This metric is critical as it reflects consumption of its cloud data platform. The company's net revenue retention rate, a measure of existing customer spending growth, was 131% last quarter. Any deviation from this level will be scrutinized.

Sector comparisons highlight the pressure. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF is up 11% year-to-date, outperforming the broader SPDR S&P 500 ETF's 7% gain. This outperformance hinges on continued strong execution from large-cap software leaders like those reporting this week.

Analysis — what it means for markets / sectors / tickers

Strong results from this cohort would validate the enterprise AI spending thesis, benefiting related semiconductor and infrastructure providers. A beat-and-raise quarter from Dell could lift shares of component suppliers like Micron and Marvell Technology. Similarly, strong guidance from Snowflake would support data infrastructure peers like Databricks, though it is privately held, and cloud giants Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

Conversely, disappointing guidance would trigger a sector rotation. Funds may flow out of high-multiple software into more defensive segments like utilities or consumer staples. Within tech, capital could shift toward hardware and semiconductor firms with more tangible near-term revenue recognition from AI, such as Nvidia and Broadcom.

A key limitation is that one quarter does not define a trend. Enterprise sales cycles are long, and a single quarter's beat or miss can be influenced by contract timing. The counter-argument is that macroeconomic uncertainty could cause chief information officers to delay transformational AI projects in favor of cost optimization, impacting future quarters more than the current one.

Positioning data from the Options Clearing Corporation shows elevated put option volume in Salesforce and Snowflake ahead of earnings, indicating hedges against downside. Meanwhile, net long positioning in Dell futures has increased by 15% over the past month, suggesting speculative bets on a hardware refresh cycle driven by AI server demand.

Outlook — what to watch next

The immediate catalyst following these reports is the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures price index data for April, released on May 30. As the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, it will influence rate expectations and overall market liquidity, affecting all growth stocks.

For sector watchers, the next major cluster of enterprise software earnings arrives in mid-July, with reports from Oracle, Adobe, and ServiceNow. Their commentary will either corroborate or contradict the trends established this week.

Key technical levels to monitor include Salesforce's 200-day moving average at $278.50. A sustained break below that level on weak guidance would signal a significant shift in sentiment. For the broader software cohort, the IGV ETF's support at $88.50 represents a critical line; a breach could trigger a broader sell-off.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do these earnings affect the cloud computing sector?

Results from Salesforce and Snowflake are leading indicators for cloud application and platform spending. Strong consumption metrics suggest healthy enterprise IT budgets, supporting the revenue growth trajectories of larger cloud infrastructure providers like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Weakness, however, would signal that cloud optimization efforts are ongoing or that AI projects are not yet translating into significant incremental cloud revenue for pure-play vendors.

What is the difference between Salesforce's and Snowflake's business models?

Salesforce operates primarily on a subscription model for its customer relationship management software, with predictable recurring revenue. Snowflake uses a consumption-based model for its data cloud, where customers pay for the compute and storage they use. This makes Snowflake's revenue more variable and sensitive to changes in customer workload activity, but it can also show faster acceleration when new projects, like AI data processing, ramp up.

Why is Dell's server business important for AI investing?

Dell's Infrastructure Solutions Group is one of the world's largest sellers of servers. Demand for its AI-optimized servers, which often contain GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, provides direct, tangible evidence of enterprise and cloud provider capital expenditure on AI hardware. Unlike software revenue, which can be speculative, server sales represent committed, upfront investment, making Dell a reliable bellwether for the physical build-out of AI infrastructure.

Bottom Line

The upcoming earnings will separate genuine AI-driven growth from narrative-driven speculation in enterprise technology.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. CFD trading carries high risk of capital loss.