(By Tim) Computer manufacturer Dell [NASDAQ: Dell]] will report earnings for the fourth quarter of the company's 2010 fiscal year on February 18, 2010. The earnings release will be followed by a conference call with CEO Michael Dell at 4:00 EST.
The consensus estimate for the quarter's net income is 27¢ per share on estimated revenues of $13.85 billion. The range of estimates from 28 analysts is 22¢ to 30¢ per share and the revenue estimates swing close to half a billion in both directions. In the same quarter of 2009, Dell earned 29¢ on $13.43 billion of sales. For the last two quarters, the actual earnings have swung wide of the estimates. In the summer of 2009, Dell beat the consensus by 26% or 6¢ per share. Then in the fall the earnings fell short of estimates by a nickel or 18%. Since the last earnings release the average estimate for the current quarter has fallen from 30¢ to 27¢.
Dell was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell as a direct shipper of personal computers and other computer products. The direct shipment model allowed the company to grow into a leading, global of computer products including PCs, laptop computers, workstations, servers and network products. The company claims to be the number 1 PC supplier for medium and small businesses for 10 years in a row. Dell does business with many of the largest corporations in the world. DELL is a component stock of the S&P 100, S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100.
In 2004, Michael Dell stepped down as CEO and remained chairman of the board. In the following years the company lost its ability to grow and by 2009 it was number 3 in global computer sales behind Hewlett Packard and Acer. In early 2007, Michael Dell returned as CEO to run the company and attempt to turn around its financial fortunes. In 2008, the company made a big push to sell computers in major retail outlets such as Wal-Mart and Costco. Financially, the $1.25 per share Dell is projected to earn in 2011 is the same as the company earned in 2005. A turnaround to the positive in earnings would be welcomed by Dell investors.
Arch-rival HP reports earnings the day before Dell and it will be interesting to see how the two companies do respectively. Good numbers for HPQ may not be good news for Dell. The Windows 7 factor which was released in October 2009 may provide a boost to computer sales for the quarter. Overall PC shipments were reported to be 25% higher in the 4th quarter of 2009. How many of those new sales went to Dell and how many to HP?