Dell Technologies rides PC sales surge to strong Q1
Dell Technologies reported better-than-expected fiscal first quarter revenue as its PC unit saw strong demand.
The company reported earnings of $938 million, or $1.13 a share, on revenue of $24.5 billion, up 12%. Non-GAAP earnings in the quarter were $2.13 a share.
Wall Street was expecting first quarter revenue of $23.4 billion with non-GAAP earnings of $1.61 a share.
Jeff Clarke, operating chief at Dell Technologies, said the company saw strong demand due to digital transformation. On a conference call with analysts, Clarke said that Dell was well positioned to navigate supply chain shortages. "As we have mentioned, the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital technology in every industry. And when coupled with an improving global economy with greater demand for everything, there is an overall shortage of semiconductors. We are executing our strategy as we work through this environment," said Clarke.
Dell's PC unit revenue surged 20% from a year ago to $13.3 billion with operating income of $1.1 billion. The PC results from Dell weren't surprising given both HP and Lenovo delivered strong sales. Dell said consumer PC revenue was up 42% with commercial sales surging 14%. XPS orders were up 21% and Alienware notebook orders were up 76% on the consumer front. Businesses had strong demand for Latitude, Precision and Chromebook systems.
CFO Thomas Sweet also added that desktop sales were improving. "We saw double-digit orders growth for Latitudes, precision systems and commercial Chromebooks. And we are starting to see improved demand for desktops as orders for our commercial desktops return to growth," said Sweet.
The company's infrastructure unit had first quarter revenue of $7.9 billion, up 5% from a year ago, with operating income of $788 billion. Servers and networking revenue was up 9%.
Dell's quarter included:
- Dell Technologies hones focus on infrastructure, PCs, hardware as a service
- Dell rolls out new tools for leveraging data at the edge
- Dell Technologies unveils Apex as-a-service portfolio as new business model flagship
- Dell Technologies sells Boomi to Francisco Partners, TPG Capital for $4 billion
- Dell Technologies to spin VMware into independent company