AI Server Sales Fuel Sharp Rally
The disclosure that President Donald Trump purchased a significant stake in Dell earlier this year has intensified conflict-of-interest concerns after the U.S. Department of Defense announced a roughly $9.69 billion (about 14.61 trillion KRW) agreement with the company.
The New York Times reported on the 28th that Mr. Trump bought Dell shares in February valued between $1 million and $5 million, and made several smaller purchases in the months that followed. Mandatory disclosure filings show his investment portfolio executed more than 3,600 trades in the first quarter alone, including positions in large banks, manufacturers and major technology firms.
On the 27th, the Defense Department said it had signed a five‑year “blanket purchase agreement” with Dell to supply Microsoft software and services to the department, the Coast Guard and intelligence agencies. As part of an effort to deploy more artificial intelligence tools across the military, Dell will consolidate and manage numerous individual contracts for those agencies. The government estimates the deal at about $9.69 billion (about 14.61 trillion KRW).
Days after his initial purchases, Mr. Trump praised Dell as a maker of “great products” at a February rally in Georgia. Michael Dell, Dell’s chief executive, said in December that he would back the president’s proposed tax‑advantaged children’s investment account—nicknamed the “Trump account”—with more than $6 billion.
Dell shares opened up 34% on the 29th and surged roughly 40% after the close on the 28th, the Wall Street Journal reported. The stock’s rise also reflected strong first‑quarter results: revenue increased 88% year‑over‑year to $43.8 billion, including about $16.1 billion from AI‑optimized servers. The combination of booming AI demand and a guaranteed Defense Department contract helped elevate the share price, underscoring how federal procurement can influence market valuations alongside corporate performance.
The Trump family said the president does not directly control the trades and that outside brokerages execute them automatically. The Trump Organization said earlier this month that the arrangement was deliberately structured to separate President Trump from the accounts’ independent third‑party money managers to avoid conflicts. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly also said the president “acts only in the best interests of the American people.”
But the New York Times criticized the expansion of the Trump family’s business interests since a potential second Trump administration took office, citing ventures from military drone manufacturing to cryptocurrency, mining and prediction markets. The paper argued that the president now oversees policies and procurement tied to those areas and added that the external asset‑management setup falls short of a traditional blind trust, allowing the president to remain aware of his investment positions.
Robert Weissman, co‑director of Public Citizen, a nonprofit that has criticized the Trump family’s business activities, said, “We can’t tell where this president’s personal profit‑seeking ends and policy decisions begin.”
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