Text Size 
DELL (DELL)
One of the world's largest PC makers. It started out by redefining the selling of computers directly to consumers and businesses. Also sells servers, storage systems and peripheral computer hardware. It is the default PC choice for many businesses, but Hewlett-Packard has been working hard (and successfully) to steal market share.
Reports Q3 earnings Thursday 11/20 at approx. 405p ET. Conference call at 430p ET.
WHAT WILL MOVE THE STOCK: 
HP'S GOOD NEWS ISN'T NECESSARILY GOOD FOR DELL - On the surface, Hewlett-Packard's [HPQ
Loading...
()
] earnings preview might have sounded like good news for the entire IT sector. However, many analysts aren't reading it that way. First, Hewlett-Packard didn't say which biz units are doing well (or poorly). Second, Hewlett-Packard is much more diversified and arguably is more resilient to an economic downturn than Dell. As a result, many (including our Jim Cramer) say the Hewlett-Packard news speaks more to that company's success than about overall strength in the IT sector. Still, Dell [DELL
Loading...
()
] only fell 2.4% on Wednesday... much less than the 6.5% drop in the Nasdaq Composite.
Question: Did Hewlett-Packard steal market share from Dell?
RECENT DOWNGRADES, PRICE CUTS - Analysts are making big reductions in their estimates for Dell. What will Dell says in its earnings report to raise confidence in the company's business plan? In the last ten days, 16 of 22 analysts covering the company cut EPS estimates for both Q3 and Q4. Other recent cuts: On Monday, Merrill Lynch downgraded Dell to neutral from buy. On Nov. 13th, Goldman Sachs put Dell on its conviction sell list, downgraded the stock to sell from neutral and cut its target price to $9 from $14.
WEAK HOLIDAY SPENDING - How much will soft holiday spending hurt Dell? Analysts have already slashed estimates. Is there more bad news to come or will Dell follow Hewlett-Packard's lead and give investors some reasons to get back in the stock?
ESTIMATES:
Q3 EPS down 9% to $0.31, revenues up 4% to $16.217 billion
Q4 EPS flat at $0.31, revenues flat at $15.915 billion
FY 09 EPS up 2% to $1.34, revenues up 6% to $64.660 billion
Source: Thomson Reuters
Year-ago actuals: Q3 EPS $0.34, revenues $15.646 billion
FACTOIDS:
TEN-YEAR LOW - Dell shares are up from its recent low of $8.85 of Nov. 13, but they are still trading at levels not seen since early 1998.
Comments? Send them to
Del.icio.us
Digg It
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes