Insider Trades: Dell Sees Over $1 Billion in Sales, Berkshire Buys a Top Homebuilder

Key Points

• Dell Technologies shares have surged 350% in 2026 on explosive AI server demand, even as Silver Lake sold over $1 billion in stock during the third quarter.
• Silver Lake's heavy selling appears tied to its typical private equity holding period since 2013 rather than a bearish view on Dell's future prospects.
• Berkshire Hathaway purchased $403 million of Lennar shares after weak earnings, betting on a long-term housing recovery despite the stock's 20% decline.

Dell Technologies NYSE: DELL and Lennar NYSE: LEN are two big-name stocks delivering wildly different performances. Dell has achieved an incredible return of 350% in 2026 as its AI servers generate massive demand. Meanwhile, Lennar, one of the largest homebuilding companies in the U.S., is down 20% as low housing affordability hits its financials.

Amid this, insider signals around these stocks are also diverging, with Dell experiencing huge sales and Lennar recently receiving a large buy from a renowned investor. However, when it comes to insider trades, context is critical, making diving into the specifics of these trades key to understanding what they tell investors.

Dell Skyrockets, Insider Sales Eclipse $1 Billion in Q3

Few large-cap names have performed as well as Dell in 2026, with the stock’s gain being in the top five highest among all S&P 500 stocks. This comes as Dell holds a very strong position in the AI server space that is growing rapidly. It combines components like NVIDIA’s NASDAQ: NVDA Rubin chips, networking, and storage systems into a fully assembled rack-scale server that data center operators deploy.

As the AI buildout persists, demand for these servers has absolutely exploded. In 2026, the company expects to generate AI server revenue of $74 billion, more than triple its 2025 sales. The company also booked $60.9 billion worth of AI server orders in its latest quarter, and its backlog is approaching $100 billion.

Demand for AI servers is driving significant financial gains for the company. Total revenue rose 58% year-over-year (YOY) last quarter, and earnings per share (EPS) soared by 203% to $7.04.

As the stock posts massive gains, insider sales are also coming in at very high levels. In Q3, the stock saw $1.07 billion worth of sales. The overwhelming majority of these sales are attributable to Silver Lake, a private equity company with investments in Dell through multiple funds. The firm’s large sales may suggest that it believes Dell shares may have limited upside after their very strong run.

However, understanding how private equity funds operate indicates these sales are not as bearish as they may seem. Silver Lake first invested in Dell in 2013, helping to take the company private. Private equity funds tend to hold positions for 10 to 12 years, or longer, depending on market conditions. Silver Lake’s large sales today align with that timeline, suggesting it is looking to exit the position to return capital to investors, rather than clearly signaling a lack of confidence in Dell going forward.

Silver Lake still holds a massive position in Dell, which could put pressure on shares going forward if it continues to sell. However, to this point, Silver Lake’s sales have clearly not prevented Dell from putting up huge gains.

Berkshire Loads Up on Lennar After Weak Earnings

Lennar has been on the opposite side of the return equation in 2026, with shares down considerably. Homebuilding stocks in general have faced a difficult backdrop, with high interest rates making financing new builds more expensive and making mortgages less affordable.

Notably, Lennar has posted negative YOY sales growth for six quarters in a row. EPS has also come crashing down, with the firm seeing negative YOY growth for nine quarters in a row. In its latest quarter, EPS dropped 38.5% YOY to $1.23.

Amid this, it appears that the investment behemoth Berkshire Hathaway sees an opportunity. Over recent weeks, Berkshire has purchased $403 million worth of Lennar shares. This represents a significant increase in Berkshire’s position, which was near $1.2 billion at the end of Q2 when combining Lennar’s Class A and Class B shares.

These buys came directly after Lennar’s latest earnings report, suggesting Berkshire saw something it liked. However, on the surface, it is difficult to find many positives. Lennar missed on sales and EPS, new orders fell 9%, and the company provided an EPS outlook well below expectations.

One notable bright spot was that although Lennar’s revenue per square foot has dropped 13% since 2023, its construction cost per square foot has fallen more, by 14%. With this, when the housing market recovers, Lennar could be in a much better position from a profitability standpoint as revenue per square foot improves, but its costs remain lower.

Still, Lennar’s overall results indicate a very challenging near-term outlook. In turn, Berkshire is likely betting on a long-term housing recovery, with the company’s cost reductions as one possible reason for its positive stance on Lennar.

What to Watch: AI Bottlenecks, Construction Costs, and Rates

For Dell, a key factor to watch is whether AI supply chain bottlenecks ease. This should aid the company’s ability to grow AI sales as it can more quickly convert its demand into revenue. The company stressed that demand outstrips supply on its last call, noting memory and storage supply first, suggesting these may be among its top constraints.

For Lennar, key factors to watch will be the company’s ability to continue lowering its construction costs and 30-year mortgage rates trending down. Notably, the 30-year fixed rate recently hit 7.12%, its highest level since May 2024.