DLLL 2X Dell ETF Plunges 16% as Dell Tumbles 8% in AI Hardware Selloff; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Falls 4%
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Leveraged funds tied to AI hardware are taking the hardest hit as server stocks fall. The GraniteShares 2x Long DELL Daily ETF (NASDAQ:DLLL) recently traded at $11.40, down 16%. That fund aims to deliver twice the daily move of Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL | DELL Price Prediction). It resets its leverage every day and can drift from that multiple over longer periods.
Dell stock is at $341.60, down 8%. Even after the drop, Dell is up 174% year to date (YTD), though it has fallen steeply over the past month. Swings in the GraniteShares fund have been violent, with a 69% decline over the past month.
AI Hardware Selloff Drags Dell Lower
Selling across AI hardware and chip names is pulling Dell lower, and the stock is moving with its sector. Technology stocks are fall as turmoil around NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) weighs on the AI trade. Bloomberg reported on November 12 that the Justice Department is examining smuggling allegations involving Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI).
Heading into the selloff, Dell’s fundamentals looked strong. On September 1[1], the company disclosed that its Q2 FY2027 revenue rose 57.8% year over year (YoY) to $46.97 billion. CEO Jeff Clarke said that in the AI server business, the company “booked a record $60.9 billion in orders, recognized a record $16.4 billion in revenue and exited the quarter with a record $95 billion backlog.”[2] The company also raised its full-year FY2027 revenue guidance to $192 billion[1].
What the Peer Group Says About Dell
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock is at $47.93, down 4%. That’s a smaller decline than Dell’s for a company whose AI exposure runs mainly through enterprise servers and a networking business rebuilt around Juniper Networks. Both companies remain tied to the same AI infrastructure spending cycle, and their shares are moving in the same direction.
Super Micro stock is at $26.54, down 2%. This cuts against the selloff’s angle, since the company most directly tied to the Justice Department report is posting the smallest decline of the three stocks. Super Micro stock fell when the probe news surfaced on November 12.
How Dell’s Business Model Differs From Its Rivals
Dell runs two engines: an Infrastructure Solutions Group selling AI-optimized servers, traditional servers, networking and storage, and a Client Solutions Group selling commercial and consumer PCs. That PC arm gives the company a source of diversification that pure AI server vendors lack. However, the mix shift toward AI servers has pressured Dell’s margins, since those systems carry lower profits.
HPE is a pure enterprise infrastructure play with no consumer PC exposure. Networking carries more weight in its mix after the Juniper Networks acquisition, giving the company a growth driver distinct from Dell’s server-heavy order book. Corporate data centers are HPE’s core market, while Dell also sells AI systems to hyperscalers, enterprises and sovereign AI initiatives. The same expansion feeds a wider group of suppliers in power, cooling and networking, which we profiled in a free report on seven AI infrastructure names that aren’t chipmakers.
Super Micro is the most concentrated of the three, built around its Data Center Building Block Solutions (DCBBS) and focused heavily on AI servers. Lower margins come with that focus, along with a governance concern from a board review of export-control transactions[3] at Super Micro.
What Comes Next for Dell and Its Leveraged ETF
Dell now faces the question of whether AI server demand commentary stabilizes the group. On its September 1[4] earnings call, Dell management stated, “Demand outstrips supply. Demand was even greater than the results that we published there. We are supply constrained.” The bulls point to that backlog of unmet demand, while the bears point to Dell’s free cash flow, which fell 47.2%[2] YoY to $986 million in Q2. Component shortages in memory and storage chips[4] could also limit how fast Dell converts orders into revenue.
Leveraged single-stock funds reset daily, so in a choppy market their returns over weeks can differ sharply from twice the underlying stock’s move. A steep daily drop in Dell is larger in the GraniteShares ETF by design. Costs add up too, as the fund carries a net expense ratio of 1.52%[5]. Those amplified swings could persist until the AI hardware selloff ends.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
David Moadel is financial writer specializing in stocks, ETFs, options, precious metals, and Bitcoin. David has written well over 1,000 articles for leading online publications, helping investors understand markets, income strategies, and risk. His work has appeared in 24/7 Wall St., The Motley Fool, InvestorPlace, U.S. News & World Report, TipRanks, ValueWalk, Benzinga, Market Realist, MarketScreener, TalkMarkets, Finmasters, and others. With a master’s degree in education, David has taught at the elementary, high school, and college levels. That teaching background shapes his writing style: clear, educational, and practical. David has also built a loyal social-media audience by providing trustworthy financial content on YouTube, X/Twitter, and StockTwits.
