Dell profits show sharp rise

By Trevor Mogg Published May 17, 2011

Even if economies around the world are experiencing hard times, Dell doesn’t seem to have heard about it. The computer giant reported strong figures for the first quarter on Tuesday, exceeding analysts’ expectations. Dell shares jumped in response to the news.

A statement issued by the company reported net income at $945 million or 49 cents a share – that’s a big leap, up from $341 million or 17 cents a share a year earlier. Sales were recorded at just over $15 billion, up almost 1 percent on the same time last year. There may have been an inkling that these figures were going to be good, coming soon after it was announced that the company had retaken the number two position in global PC sales. HP holds the top spot.

Recommended Videos

Michael Dell, the company’s CEO and chairman, was understandably delighted with the financial report, saying, “We’re off to a solid start in our fiscal year 2012. Our substantial profit increase demonstrates that our strategy is working and our execution is improving.”

According to Dell’s statement, the strong results reflect the company’s “improved profitability in end-user-computing, particularly Dell’s client desktop and laptop offerings.” It continues: “This improved performance is the result of a higher-value product portfolio, good cost management, better sales execution and a significantly improved supply chain.”

In an interview with Dow Jones reported in the Wall Street Journal, the company’s chief financial officer Brian Gladden said: “When you look at margins, it’s continuing a trend of moving to higher margin products. We’ve seen improved margins in nearly the entire portfolio.”

According to the WSJ, Dell also said that consumer demand for PCs was slow as customers looked more closely at tablets instead. Dell itself has the Inspiron duo and two Streak tablets on the market, though sales have hardly threatened to knock the popular iPad off its perch. The Texas-based company also hopes to release another tablet at some point this year, possibly in September.

Dell’s healthy sales to businesses of products such as servers, storage devices and computers were a big factor in its strong first-quarter results. No doubt the company will be wanting to build on its success in that field over the coming months, and if the economies around the world begin to pick up, it’ll be well placed to do so.

Topics

Dell

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Computing

The powerful Dell XPS 16 is on sale with a $600 discount

The XPS 16 open on a table.

If you're searching for a powerful device from today's laptop deals, you can't go wrong with the Dell XPS 16. This particular configuration, which usually sells for $3,050, is available from Dell with a $600 discount that drops its price to $2,450. We're not sure how much time you have to take advantage of these savings, so if you want to make sure that you purchase this top-of-the-line device for a lower price than usual, you should complete your transaction for it as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the Dell XPS 16
Following the Dell XPS reset last year, the Dell XPS 16 took the mantle of the Dell XPS 17 as the largest model in the popular line of laptops. We gave it a score of 3.5 out of 5 stars in our review, with its expensive price tag as one of its downsides -- but with this discount, the focus will shift towards all the good things about the Dell XPS 16, which starts with its ultramodern design and its gorgeous 16.3-inch UHD+ touchscreen with OLED technology.

Computing

This Dell 2-in-1 laptop is nearly half-price after a $450 discount

Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 (7445) front view showing tent mode.

If you can't decide between laptop deals and tablet deals for your next device, you can actually get the best of both worlds with the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 laptop. It's an even more attractive option right now because it's $450 off as part of a clearance sale from Dell, which nearly halves its price from $950 to just $500. We're not sure how long stocks will remain available for this versatile machine, so if you want to take advantage of this offer, we highly recommend completing your transaction as soon as you can.

Why you should buy the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 laptop
The Dell Inspiron 14 7440 is the Intel-powered version of the Dell Inspiron 14 7445, with this 2-in-1 laptop running on the Intel Core 7 150U processor, integrated Intel Graphics, and 16GB of RAM that's on the level of top-tier machines, according to our guide on how much RAM do you need. With these specifications, you won't have any trouble handling all of your daily tasks for work or school, such as doing online research, building reports, and creating presentations. With Windows 11 Home pre-installed in its 512GB SSD, you can start using the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 laptop right after unboxing it, and it comes with a fingerprint reader for security.

Computing

The Dell XPS 13, a Copilot+ laptop, is on sale at $300 off

Dell XPS 13 9350 front angled view showing display and keyboard.

If you're thinking about buying a laptop that's designed to maximize the capabilities of Microsoft's Copilot, here's an offer from Dell that you should consider: the Dell XPS 13 with a $300 discount that brings its price down to $1,700 from $2,000. It's still not what you'd call affordable after those savings, but it's going to be worth every single penny with its capabilities. You're going to have to act fast if you don't want to miss out though, as there's always a lot of interest in Dell XPS deals.

Why you should buy the Dell XPS 13
The Dell XPS 13 is a Copilot+ laptop, which means it's built so that you can fully enjoy the features of Microsoft's Copilot. You'll be able to access the powerful AI assistant with ease as the device is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V Series 2 processor, Intel Arc Graphics, and 32GB of RAM, which our guide on how much RAM do you need says is the sweet spot for professionals. With these specifications and Windows 11 Home, you'll also be able to carry out even the most demanding tasks for work or school without any issues, even when you're multitasking between several apps to get them done.