Dell's Record Revenue Tops Analyst Expectations

SAN FRANCISCO — PC mega-vendor Dell Inc. Thursday (Feb. 16) reported a net income of $1 billion for the fourth quarter of 2005, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), up 52 percent from the same period of 2004.

Dell (Round Rock, Texas) said fourth quarter revenue reached a company record $15.2 billion, up 13 percent year-to-year. The company posted fourth quarter GAAP earnings per share of 43 cents, up 65 percent year-to-year.Revenue, Dell said, was up due in part to a stronger than expected impact of an extra week of sales in the quarter.

Dell reported a full year net income of nearly $3.6 billion, up about 20 percent from 2004. Revenue for the year was $56 billion, Dell said, up 14 percent.

"We drove a better balance across all price points of our products and greater operational efficiencies this quarter, and performed at the high level of execution we expect for ourselves," said Kevin Rollins, Dell CEO, in a statement. "Our success in countries such as China and Germany shows the Dell direct business model is preferred by customers in all regions and provides us with a unique advantage and opportunity for continued growth."

Dell's fourth quarter earnings per share of 43 cents exceeded consensus analyst expectations of 41 cents per share. Fourth quarter revenue exceeded consensus analyst expectations of $14.8 billion.Fourth quarter sales outside the U.S. were an all-time high of 43 percent of the company's overall revenue for the fourth quarter, Dell said, up from 40 percent in the previous quarter. The company said it gained share in every region during the year.

Also Thursday, several online media outlets reported that American Technology Research is saying that Dell will announce it is switching to Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) processors this quarter. American Technology Research analyst Doug Freedman has been predicting this announcement would surface for weeks.

Dell's fourth quarter earnings and revenue fell short of rival PC supplier Hewlett-Packard Co., which Wednesday reported quarterly GAAP net earnings of $1.2 billion on sales of $22.7 billion for its quarter ended Jan. 31.