| | Dell to claim PC spotlight with report
By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:02 PM ET Aug. 4, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - After taking a breather for a week, bellwether computer companies get back into the earnings fray with the world's No. 1 computer company, Dell Inc., set to deliver its second-quarter report.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call estimate Dell (DELL: news, chart, profile) will earn 38 cents a share, on revenue of $13.7 billion, when it delivers its results on August 11. During the same period a year ago, Dell earned 31 cents a share, $11.7 billion.
Dell continues to maintain its top spot as the No. 1 computer company. According to technology research firm Gartner Inc., Dell shipped 8.76 million PCs, for 17.9% of the market, during the second quarter of the year. Dell's shipments grew almost 24% from the same period a year ago.
Merrill Lynch analyst Steven Milunovich said in a research note that Dell should be able to gain more market share throughout the rest of the year, and see its margins improve at the same time.
In addition to Dell's traditional strengths in PCs and enterprise products such as servers and storage, Dell says it continues to make gains in the printer market, as well as other peripherals such as televisions and displays. When Dell reported its first-quarter results, in May, it said sales of such products accounted for $2 billion in revenue.
Dell shares have also shown some consistent growth over the last quarter, rising more than 15% to recently trade at close to $40 a share. Analysts say that the company should get at least another slight market boost as long as it meets estimates and gives an upbeat third-quarter forecast.
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