Dell misses forecasts, shares sink Largest PC seller in U.S. says sales fell 15% and profit dropped 54%. The company expects improvement in the current quarter on the back of Windows 7. By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer November 19, 2009: 4:18 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Dell Inc. reported a quarterly profit and sales Thursday that fell drastically from year-earlier results and badly missed Wall Street's forecasts. The Round Rock, Texas.-based PC maker said net income for the third quarter, ended Oct. 30, fell 54% to $337 million, or 17 cents per share. Results included charges of 6 cents per share for cost cutting and other one-time expenses. Without the charges, Dell said it earned 23 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items from their estimates, forecasted earnings of 28 cents per share. Sales fell 15% to $12.9 billion, missing analysts' forecasts of $13.2 billion. "We are seeing improvement in overall underlying IT demand that is continuing into the fourth quarter," said Michael Dell, Dell's chief executive, in a statement. "The launch of Windows 7 is being very well received by small businesses and consumers, and we'll see the benefits of that more fully in our fiscal fourth quarter." Dell sells more PCs than any other company in the United States. But its market share has slipped recently, as the company has emphasized its bottom line over price cuts. Shipments were flat over the past three months and down 5% over the course of the year. The company has worked to cut costs in an effort to weather a difficult market for PC sales. Last month, Dell said it was closing a plant in North Carolina, resulting in the loss of more than 900 jobs. Shares of Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) fell 7% after hours. To top of page
If they guide higher thats all we need for a rally. "We are seeing improvement in overall underlying IT demand that is continuing into the fourth quarter,
Yes but it doesn't matter as they lost due to losing market share not due to the segment contracting, no effect on futures.