Lenovo is, by most measures, the third or fourth largest PC company in the world. As big as it is, Lenovo has just sacked its CEO and reported a big loss. This is yet another sign that demand for personal computers is falling apart and the financial results for companies in the industry are likely to go from bad to worse.
According to Reuters, Lenovo lost almost $100 million in the last quarter. Looking ahead, "Analysts expect the current fourth quarter to be even bleaker, predicting a net loss of up to $273 million."
While PC market share leader Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has diversified into software and IT services, and its buyout of EDS should strengthen its consulting business, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) has no such buffers from the PC sales downturn, which means its next quarter could be awful and that it will probably warn of more bad quarters ahead.
Dell's shares are under $10, down from a 52-week high of just over $26. Any sign that it will move toward a loss and begin yet another restructuring could take those shares below $8.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
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