The revenue miss was split evenly between weak demand in the public sector, primarily in U.S. federal buying, and Dell being aggressive with prices in the consumer sector. The latter is easily fixed. (But) Dell doesn't appear to have confidence federal demand will improve in the current quarter. |
The U.S. share loss is consistent with our view the company is losing share in its established markets, which we consider an ominous trend. |
They've got some real smoking printers coming out. They have definitely gotten my attention. |
This has been a story about fixing the business, and they've made great progress in the last 12 months. Now they need to bring in new business and grow the company. |
This is not a company that's on the ropes, but I think it's struggling to maintain the growth targets it has set for itself. |
Three-to-four years ago, in the worst of the downturn, the only money they spent was because got they got a really good return on investment and got it quickly. It was all about saving money. Now, companies are spending money on technology to become more competitive and to gain new capabilities. |
We all know this company has been trying to sell itself for 65 bucks (a share) minimum, which was a pretty outrageous price given the earnings outlook. |
We believe . . . that tightening links with customers by moving these functions into business units is a necessary step, |
We believe Dell performed well in (its fourth fiscal quarter) versus very conservative guidance but continue to think it is no longer benefiting from what we consider Dell's historical advantages: low prices and superior service. |
We do not look favorably upon this tactic as we think it reduces quality of earnings and reduces management accountability and transparency. |
We have been citing improving execution as a key driver of earnings growth while conventional wisdom and headlines have credited cost cutting. Based on yesterday's results and questions on yesterday's conference call, we think investors are finally realizing that cost cutting is only part of the story. |
We think Dell has been too focused on perfecting its existing model instead of adapting it to a changing environment. What was working for them before is no longer working. |
We think Hewlett-Packard will finally get credit for improving execution, possibly putting to rest concerns (H-P) is a cost-cutting story that is fully reflected in the stock. We think investors are finally realizing that cost cutting is only part of the story. |
We view this as a legal way of artificially boosting earnings by moving expenses to a place where investors generally won't see them. |
We would remain on the sidelines pending evidence the plan is working. |