Dell Technologies Inc (DELL.N) has reported a 20% decrease in revenue, amounting to $20.92 billion for the first quarter ending May 5. This marks the third consecutive quarter of decline for the company, as demand for desktops and laptops continues to wane following the pandemic-driven surge for work-from-home equipment. Despite the downturn, Dell managed to surpass analysts’ expectations of $20.27 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Trading of the company’s shares was temporarily halted after Dell announced its results during regular trading hours, deviating from the scheduled release after markets closed. Earnings reports from industry rivals, including HP Inc (HPQ.N) and Lenovo Group (0992.HK), also suggest that a recovery remains elusive, as economic uncertainty continues to affect the sector’s core enterprise customer base and exacerbate inventory pile-ups.
Dell’s client solutions unit, which covers its consumer and enterprise PC business, experienced a 23% drop in sales. In addition, the infrastructure solutions unit, comprising servers, storage devices, and networking hardware, saw an 18% decline.
The net income attributable for the quarter amounted to $578 million, or 79 cents per share, down from $1.07 billion, or $1.37 per share, recorded during the same period last year. The ongoing economic instability poses a significant challenge to the recovery of the tech giant and its competitors in the industry.