Dell’s Q3 Revenue Misses Estimates

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) after market close released its third-quarter financial results, posting weaker than expected revenue for the quarter. The computer maker also warned that its revenue for the full year could be negatively impacted by a shortage of hard drives.

The Round Rock, Texas-based company said in a statement that uncertainties surrounding the economy and a shortage of hard drives means that its fiscal 2012 revenue is tracking at the lower end of its guidance. Production of hard drives has been severely disrupted by the flooding in Thailand and there are concerns that this could lead to slowdown in PC manufacturing.

Dell’s CFO Brian Gladden told Reuters that the shortage of hard drives will force the company to prioritize toward higher-value consumers and products.

For the third quarter Dell reported PC revenue of $3.4 billion, down 6% over the same period in the previous year. The company’s sales to consumers dropped 6% in the quarter. Dell’s gross margin for the quarter fell 20 basis points on a sequential basis to 23.1%. On a year-over-year basis, however, the company’s gross margin improved 310 basis points.

Dell’s total third-quarter revenue was essentially flat at $15.36 billion. However, third-quarter revenue fell short of Street estimates of $15.65 billion.

The company’s net earnings for the quarter came in at $893 million, or $0.49 per share, compared with $822 million, or $0.42 per share reported for the same period in the previous year. Excluding one-time items, Dell’s earnings for the third quarter were $0.54 per share, above consensus forecast of $0.47 per share.

The weaker than expected third-quarter revenue and a cautious outlook dragged Dell shares lower in after-hours trading today. At last check, Dell shares were down 1.47% to $15.40 in after-hours trading today. Earlier the stock had closed 2.02% higher at $15.63 in regular trading.

Dell shares have gained more than 15% this year.

Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.