Wall St.’s Message To Dell (DELL): Stop Restructuring

Dell’s (DELL) earnings seemed OK. Revenue was up 9% to $15.6 billion. EPS rose 26% to $0.34. With a restructuring charge backed out, that was what Wall St. expected.

US sales were weak, but any analyst reading Gartner already knew that. The rest of the world looked pretty good. In Asia revenue in the quarter grew by 18 percent on a 20 percent increase in units. Revenue increased 14 percent and shipments were up 13 percent in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Dell’s notebook business exploded upward by 22%.

But, there were a few little sentences at the end of the earnings release that sent the stock down 8% after hours. "As the company executes against these priorities it will continue to incur costs as it restructures to improve productivity and execution, reduce headcount where appropriate, and invest in infrastructure and acquisitions…this may adversely impact the company’s performance."

Investors sent Dell a critical message yesterday night, and that will probably continue in the trading days between now and the next earnings announcement, at least. End the restructuring and stop buying new businesses. The company recently closed a deal to buy ASAP Software for $430 million. Dell also bought IP storage company EqualLogic. And, Michael Dell has said the company is not done.

Dell has as much as admitted that cutting headcount could hurt performance, at least short term. It is also saying that buying new companies can hurt the P&L and take up management time. Wall St. hopes that those effects are temporary.

But, the real message the market has for Dell is "enough already." Please, run your PC business. Try to improve sales in the US. Get more retail partners around the world. Be like HP (HPQ).

Do one thing well, and not several things badly.

Douglas A. McIntyre