Dell: PC demand 'seems to have stabilized'
The computer maker says its upcoming second-quarter earnings results will reflect better demand for its goods and slightly better revenue.
Dell hinted Monday that the worst may be over regarding the demand for its products.
Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden said that though demand for Dell PCs, servers, and services "seems to have stabilized," it's not consistent throughout all customer segments and geographic regions. In addition, he says that when the company reports its second-quarter earnings next month its revenue will tick up slightly over the previous quarter. That will be accompanied by a small decline in gross margins, which suggests a more competitive pricing environment for PC components.
A sign that businesses--Dell's best customers--are starting to spend money on IT again is good news for the whole industry. But it's particularly important to Dell because its bottom line has taken a huge hit since last year's global economic meltdown. The company has been looking to reboot its business by reorganizing, reassessing product lines, and, chiefly, cutting costs.
Dell will hold its annual shareholders' meeting Friday morning in Austin, where CEO Michael Dell and Gladden will no doubt be questioned about their plan to take advantage of any kind of resurgent demand for Dell products.