Dell Earnings Drop 5%, Shares Drop 3%

Earnings for Dell’s (DELL) fiscal fourth quarter which ended January 29 fell 5% to $334 million. EPS dropped 6% to 17%. The company reported that sales rose 11% to $14.9 billion.

Dell posted improvements across all of its major units–Large Enterprise, Small and Medium Business, and Consumer. Operating income for the Consumer segment was only $9 million. The computer firm gave its usual, extremely odd outlook: “Dell saw demand in the important commercial business continuing to return during the fourth quarter and is cautiously optimistic that this trend will continue into fiscal-year 2011. The company is confident in its ability to deliver the right technology to commercial customers and believes its extensive and ongoing cost actions position it well for this environment of increased demand. Longer term, the company is confident it can generate growth in revenue, operating-income margin and cash flow from operations. ”

Shares dropped 3% on the news to $13.92

Douglas A. McIntyre