With all the hubbub about Dell Inc.'s (NASDAQ:DELL) poor performance over the recent calendar year, will the world's second-largest PC manufacturer turn in disappointing performance tomorrow when it releases quarterly results? Competitor Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) turned in what I consider to be absolutely solid results just last week, and during the middle of 2006 it over took Dell as the world's largest PC maker. HP also has its hands in many other profitable areas where Dell does no operate (printer/imaging and services.)

With that said, the consensus on the Street for Dell's latest quarterly performance is pegged at $0.31 EPS, as some analysts have taken higher estimates down in the face of some signs from the computer maker recently.

Yes, former Dell CEO Kevin Rollins was ousted just about a month ago and company founder Michael Dell has returned as CEO. Not only that, but Dell has gone on a hiring rampage and has hired some well-known executives from outside the industry (like Solectron's Mike Cannon and Motorola's Ron Garriques) to help bring fresh thinking into the company as well as help turn around this laggard ship of sort.

The big question I have here -- which I will delve into in another post -- is if Dell will re-examine its current business model and actually try to re-enter the retail store market for goose PC sales. Dell was in retail way back in the early 90s in an experiment, but left that sector and had not been back. Will it come back to retailers like Best Buy, Circuit City and CompUSA? Stay tuned for that one.

Until then, be sure and stay tuned to BloggingStock's Dell blog tomorrow at 5 p.m. EST for the liveblog of Dell's Q4 financial results. Maybe the company will drop a hint or two about its future plans. Will Dell meet, beat or fall short of analyst expectations tomorrow? Vote now.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know what you're expecting.

As Dell Inc.(NYSE:DELL) continues to shake up its executive roster, the latest comes from the ranks of one of the world's largest contract manufacturers. Dell has tapped Mike Cannon, CEO of Solectron, to become its new head of worldwide manufacturing operations. This move from a CEO position to an executive position could be viewed as just a lateral move for Cannon, who worked as CEO for Maxtor in the hard drive industry before becoming Solectron's CEO less than six years ago.

Cannon has the international and operational gusto to attack this new challenge head on, and Dell needs to make sure it has the right kind of person onboard to oversee the manufacturing operations that are responsible for most of its sales. If the machine isn't oiled tightly, big things can happen. I won't even go over the recent Dell laptop battery recall, even though that was more of a Sony issue than a Dell when it comes down to it.

With Dell's former CEO -- Kevin Rollins -- leaving just a few weeks ago and online marketing chief John Hamlin leaving just recently, Dell is making sweeping changes to its exec roster -- but this one with Cannon is a doozy. If you're a Dell shareholder, be watching this one carefully.