Dell Technologies stirred the crypto community recently, but the latest earnings report put an end to speculation about a potential Bitcoin acquisition. Despite cryptic posts from CEO Michael Dell hinting at an interest in Bitcoin, the company did not add the cryptocurrency to its balance sheet in the second quarter of the year.
Rumors
The rumors began swirling after Michael Dell posted a series of Bitcoin-related messages on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). On June 21, Dell tweeted, 'Scarcity creates value,' a phrase often associated with Bitcoin due to its capped supply of 21 million coins. The speculation grew when Dell retweeted a response from MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, a well-known Bitcoin advocate, who added, 'Bitcoin is Digital Scarcity.' Dell further fueled the fire by sharing an image of the Cookie Monster devouring a Bitcoin logo.
Bitcoin Still Preferred
In a poll conducted by Dell on June 29, Bitcoin emerged as the winner with 43% of the vote when users were asked to choose between AI, Bitcoin, love and relationships, or none of the above. Dell’s last Bitcoin-related comment came on July 16, when he described Bitcoin as 'fascinating' in response to an interview with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who had recently shifted his stance on the cryptocurrency after studying it closely.
Financial Results
Despite these hints, Dell Technologies’ financial filings showed no signs of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies on its balance sheet. This omission contrasts with other companies that have publicly disclosed their Bitcoin holdings. For example, Tesla revealed its $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase in its Q1 2021 filings, and MicroStrategy has been transparent about its substantial Bitcoin holdings, which currently amount to 226,500 BTC worth $13.4 billion. While Dell Technologies did not venture into Bitcoin, the company did report impressive financial results for Q2, largely due to the surge in AI demand. The company posted a total revenue of $25 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $24 billion. A significant contributor to this growth was the record-breaking revenue from servers and networking, which reached $7.7 billion, an 80% increase compared to the previous year. Jeff Clarke, Dell’s vice chairman and chief operating officer, highlighted the impact of AI on the company’s performance, noting that AI-optimized server demand was particularly strong, bringing in $3.2 billion in revenue for the quarter and $5.8 billion year-to-date.
While Dell Technologies did not include Bitcoin in its balance sheet, the company managed to showcase significant financial results thanks to the surge in AI demand.
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