Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) today posted earnings which may contain some surprises for bulls and bears alike.  The PC maker posted $0.37 EPS and $15.16 billion in revenues versus $0.31 and $16.22 billion estimates. 

This report has shares up in after-hours trading.

Revenue was down 3% on unit-shipment growth of 3%.  The company isnoting a drop in revenues on global IT spending.But it also noted that strong cost management drove results.  Be advised that this is further evidence of those low-priced laptops and desktops priced under $400.00 creating a new era for PC makers.

Unfortunately, there is no formal guidance beyond very cautious statements:

• Dell believes that global IT end-user demand will continue to bechallenging. Against this backdrop the company will continue to focuson improving competitiveness, lowering costs and improving its mix ofproducts and services to optimize liquidity, profitability and growth.The company will continue to incur costs as it realigns its business toimprove competitiveness, reduce headcount in certain areas and investin infrastructure, growth opportunities and acquisitions.

Shares closed down over 5% at $9.81 today, and rose to around $10.25 after the report.

Jon C. Ogg
November 20, 2008 

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