Dell's 3Q Sales and Profits Fall Flat
Posted 11/20/09 at 07:24:09 AM by Paul Lilly
Dell didn't deliver in the third quarter the way analysts were expecting, instead missing the mark even on modest expectations, Businessweek reports.
According to the OEM's earnings report, sales dropped 15 percent to $12.9 billion. Net income took a bigger hit and fell by 54 percent to $337 million, or 23 cents per share, well below Wall Street's prediction that Dell would earn 28 cents per share on sales of $13.1 billion.
The poor performance affected just about every aspect of Dell's businesses, but sales to large businesses were hit particularly hard. That's bad news when close to 80 percent of Dell's sales are businesses and government customers.
Even the launch of Windows 7 didn't do much to bolster sales, at least not yet. According to company CFO Brian Gladden, customers had put off purchasing a PC in the weeks leading up to Windows 7, and Dell's quarter ended just eight days after launch.
"We built a bit of a backlog as a result, and we'll ship through that in the fourth quarter," Gladden said.
Back in the day ...
Submitted by Larry Lee on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 9:33am
Back in the day, Dell manufactured pretty good large laptops with 17" screens.
I am typing on an old Inspiron E1705 with an ATI X1400 video card.
I bought this desktop replacement 5 years ago, and now it is running Windows 7 without a glitch.
However, the new 16" laptop I bought last week was a Toshiba with Harmon Kardon speakers.
The netbook I bought last month was also a Toshiba, N205.
Both Toshibas were priced cheap, and they are running Win 7 without a hiccup.
Submitted by Code_Man65 on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 8:52am
While I can agree with not liking Dells consumer hardware, their enterprise hardware is really well done.
Edit - Doh this was supposed to be a reply.
Submitted by Scootiep on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 2:05pm
True, really my problem never was with Dell's hardware, it was always with the ridiculous overload of useless software they packaged all their consumer based PC systems with. Anytime a family member or friend buys a Dell, I always ask them what they are going to use it for and then just start removing programs left and right. It just really annoys me. That and the fact that they are adding the cost of all of that extra, un-needed software into the overall price of the PC you are purchasing which means you can build a system nearly twice as powerful as what Dell is willing to sell you for the same price.
To start press any key...ohh, where's the "Any" key. - Homer Simpson
Submitted by Scootiep on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 6:37am
Well...I hate Dell. So HUZZAH! I've never had anything but problems and frustration with their computers (usually fixing them for friends or family members).
To start press any key...ohh, where's the "Any" key. - Homer Simpson
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