PC makers like Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and Taiwan's Acer have seen computer sales decline in the past year as consumers faced a recession and tightened wallets.

Now, this isn't the first time PC sales have slumped, but it did send a red flag up a bit to those the sell the most: how about diversifying a little bit?

Continue reading PC makers look to the smartphone market to offset slumping PC sales

PC makers look to the smartphone market to offset slumping PC sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) were last seen headed south after the world's largest technology company reported fiscal first-quarter results and cut its full-year 2009 guidance.

HP said it earned 93 cents per share, excluding one-time costs, on revenue of $28.8 billion for the quarter.

While the bottom-line number matched analyst estimates, the top-line figure fell well short of expectations by more than $3 billion.

Part of the revenue shortfall was a result of currency fluctuations, but the pullback in technology spending was broad-based, as all but one of the company's major business lines posted a decrease in revenue.

Continue reading HP disappoints on future uncertainty

HP disappoints on future uncertainty originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier this year, tech research firm Gartner reduced its worldwide sales forecasts for personal computers, citing the weakening economy and cautioned that growth could drop into the single digits. But what's driving Intel these days is notebook computers, where sales remain robust. Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) reported better-than-expected results in May because of growth in laptops sales.

Continue reading Earnings preview: Intel's growth is slowing but it remains a Wall Street favorite

Earnings preview: Intel's growth is slowing but it remains a Wall Street favorite originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) may be back on track. Data from research firm IDC shows that, in the fourth quarter, Dell shipped 17.1 percent more PCs worldwide in the quarter than in the year-earlier period, for a total of 11.3 million units and 14.6 percent of the global PC market, according to Reuters. The company also had strong results in the U.S.

It may be that Dell's program to sell PCs through retail outlets is starting to show results, but that would not account for the global change. The company has attempted to add new models and pair that with aggressive pricing. That is driving growth, which may be coming at the expense of rival Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ).

If the IDC figures are accurate, Dell's numbers for the last quarter of 2007 should be better than expected.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Dell sales gain ground originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dell fumbles market share in third quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Reuters makes the argument that strong numbers from HP (NYSE: HPQ) will cause the market to expect more from Dell (NASDAQ: DELL). The news service says HP "results may raise the bar for competitor Dell, which is more vulnerable to U.S. economic woes and reports earnings next week." Dell does get 85% of its sales from the U.S. market.

Wall Street is not so stupid that it has missed the vulnerability in the Dell model. HP's shares are up more than 20% so far this year. Dell's are only up 5%.

Dell only needs to report very modest numbers to please investors. Its new program to sell to consumers through retail outlets is only a year old and its push into key markets like China is in the early stages.

The question investors will have for Dell management is: what does 2008 look like? If the PC company cannot begin to pick up shares from HP, Lenovo, and Acer by then, the turnaround is no turnaround. It will have turned out to be a nice try.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Do HP numbers make life harder for Dell? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Deals on PCs this winter

PCs may be hot holiday gifts this year originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Although Lenovo is increasing its market share and is reducing employee headcount to get costs in control when it comes to labor, it faces a formidable challenge from the strength of HP, which has gained on every front from operational efficiency to labor costs to more sales in the last 24 months.

Continue reading Lenovo triples quarterly profit on market share gains, job cuts

Lenovo triples quarterly profit on market share gains, job cuts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will push into Staples save Dell's holiday sales? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Well it's harvest season here in New England, and the Macintoshes are ripe. But in Silicon Valley, it looks like Apple (NYSE: AAPL)'s Macintosh brand is the fruit filling in the PC market pie. According to TheStreet.com, Apple's Macintosh is gaining market share.

How much? In the third quarter, Apple's Mac computers accounted for 6.3% of all PCs sold, up from 5.7% a year earlier, according to IDC. This growth means that Apple pulled further ahead of its competitors as it increased its lead as the third-ranked player in the market, a position it took over earlier in the year.

This gain in market share should help Apple when it reports on Monday, as the Macintosh has been accounting for a greater share of Apple's own profit pie. In the first nine months of the company's fiscal year, the Mac accounted for 41% of the company's total revenue, up from 36% during the same time last year.

It's a tasty time to own Apple shares. The question for investors is whether Apple -- trading at a Price/Earnings to Growth (PEG) ratio of 2.6 (on a P/E of 49 and earnings growth forecast of 19% to $4.48 in 2008) -- is ripe for harvest or hot to hold. What do you think?

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Apple.

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Apple takes a bigger slice of the PC pie originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As the seasons roll around so do the quarterly PC sales numbers from research firm Gartner. It will be a chilly fall for Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) In the third quarter, the Texas-based PC company shipped 9.8 million PCs. That was an increase of less than 4% over the same period last year, and gave the company 14% of the global market, according to The Wall Street Journal.

By way of contrast, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) shipped 12.8 million PCs world-wide, enough for 19% of the market and a 33% increase from the year earlier period.

Ouch.

It would appear that HP is going to report especially strong PC sales when it releases its third quarter earnings. Its shares are already at almost $53, near their 52-week high.

But the numbers raise serious questions about Michael Dell's chances of turning around the company that he founded. He has put his PC into retail outlets, which should help sales over time. But he is still competing with smaller companies like Acer and Lenovo, who are anxious to increase sales in Europe and the US.

Dell's shares are up almost 15% over the last six months. But if the Q3 sales numbers are reflected in its earnings, the improvement could be short lived.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Global PC sales extra bad news for Dell originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Oct 2007 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and Mac sales estimates are right on the mark originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Personal Computer Price War Appears To Be Subsiding originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Nov 2006 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.