Dell lands $9.7bn Pentagon contract just weeks after Trump said 'go out and buy'
Dell Technologies has secured a $9.7 billion (€8.3bn) defence contract to supply Microsoft software across the entire US military, just weeks after US President Donald Trump publicly endorsed the company at the White House.
On Wednesday, the US Department of War confirmed it had awarded Dell Federal Systems, the government-focused unit of Dell Technologies, a five-year, $9.7 billion (€8.3bn) contract to supply the Pentagon.
As part of the Core Enterprise Technology Agreement (CETA), a Pentagon-wide Microsoft licensing and software procurement framework, the company will provide and manage Microsoft software licences, cloud subscriptions and on-premises software licensing across the US military, intelligence agencies and the US Coast Guard.
Dell Technologies' shares were up around 5% in pre-market to $320 due to the announcement after closing Wednesday's session at roughly $305.
The company is set to report its earnings for the first quarter of this year on Thursday, with analysts from Zacks Investment Research forecasting revenues of approximately $35 billion (€30bn), representing annual growth of about 50%.
According to US DoW Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies, who briefed reporters at the Pentagon, the CETA is expected to save the department roughly $422 million (€360.9mn) annually by consolidating fragmented technology budgets from across the military services into a single purchasing structure.
The contract was granted less than three weeks after US President Donald Trump stood at a White House event and urged Americans to "go out and buy a Dell. They're great."
Davies and acting US Navy Chief Information Officer Barry Tanner were both clear that the award followed a competitive process.
"The vendors were all evaluated based on competition, comparison to GSA schedule pricing and overall chain of value to the department," Tanner noted.
Dell holds a long-standing commercial partnership with Microsoft and is one of its major buyers of Windows licences. Nonetheless, the contract arrives at the culmination of a period of visible alignment between CEO Michael Dell and the Trump administration.
In December 2025, Dell and his wife Susan appeared alongside Trump at the White House to announce a $6.25 billion (€5.3bn) donation to "Trump Accounts," a tax-advantaged investment programme for children created under the "One Big Beautiful Bill".
The pledge will provide $250 (€214) to roughly 25 million American children aged 10 and under from households with a median income below $150,000 (€129,000) and was described by Invest America, the nonprofit organisation spearheading the initiative, as the largest ever private commitment devoted to American children.
Michael Dell also sits on Trump's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, informing public policy regarding the economy, public health, national security, energy and emerging technologies.
The convergence of public presidential endorsements and subsequent federal contract awards is attracting scrutiny beyond Dell.
Financial disclosures released this month by the US Office of Government Ethics showed that investment accounts associated with President Donald Trump held Dell Technologies shares during the first quarter of 2026. The disclosures indicate some purchases were made before Trump publicly praised the company at a White House event.
The Trump Organisation has said the accounts are managed independently by third-party financial institutions and that neither Trump nor his family directs individual trades.
Last week, responding to questions about Trump’s financial disclosures at a White House briefing, Vice President JD Vance said the president’s investments are handled by independent wealth advisers and rejected suggestions that Trump personally directs individual stock trades. “He’s not making these stock trades himself,” Vance said.
Commentators and ethics critics have also pointed to trading activity involving companies such as Intel and Palantir, whose shares have at times moved sharply following public comments by Trump or announcements linked to government technology spending.
The Pentagon has said Dell’s selection followed a competitive procurement process.
Even so, the timing of the award alongside Trump’s public praise of the company and financial disclosures showing investments linked to Dell is likely to draw renewed scrutiny from ethics observers and political critics.
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