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Dell Technologies' Q3 shines as remote work, learning stokes PC demand

Chromebook revenue was up triple digits as Dell's PC unit shined. The infrastructure group held its own as Dell looks toward AI workloads, hybrid cloud and edge computing.
Written by Larry Dignan, Contributor

Dell Technologies third quarter results crushed estimates as it rode a PC demand surge amid remote work and learning.

The company reported earnings of $881 million, or $1.08 a share, in the third quarter on revenue of $23.5 billion, up 3% from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings for the third quarter were $2.03 a share.

Wall Street was expecting Dell to report third quarter revenue of $21.85 billion with non-GAAP earnings of $1.40 a share.

Jeff Clarke, chief operating officer of Dell Technologies, said the company rode "unprecedented demand for remote work and learn solutions this quarter." Hybrid cloud demand also fared well and the Dell Technologies also outlined plans to build out its edge computing footprint

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PC demand boomed in the quarter. Dell Technologies' client solutions group reported sales of $12.3 billion. Consumer revenue was up 14% and commercial sales growth was 5%. Dell said that commercial Chromebooks had triple-digit revenue growth and Latitude and Precision notebooks had double digit sales growth. See: Dell Black Friday 2020 deals: XPS 15, G5 gaming laptop, and more | PC, dead? Shipments just hit a new high – and you can guess why

Third quarter operating income for the PC unit was $1 billion. Rival HP also reported strong fourth quarter results

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Clarke added that digital transformation is a "must-have and accelerating." Investments are also accelerating in edge computing, distributed work, cybersecurity and infrastructure to support 5G and data analytics.

He said: 

Together, these trends are taking us to a future that is highly distributed with distributed workforce, learning and health care enabled by distributed technology infrastructure, computing, analytics and real-time outcomes at the edge. 

Dell Technologies also to more online selling for consumers and exited retail. That move hurt market share, but boosted margins. 

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Dell Technologies' infrastructure group had revenue of $8 billion, down 4% from a year ago, and the company noted that customers were spending more on remote work and business continuity. Operating income was $882 million.  

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