Aug 29

Written by:
8/29/2008 1:44 PM 

Dell Inc. (DELL)

Dell Inc. (DELL) missed its earnings expectations today and looks to be expensive even after a 12% drop in stock value. Analysts were looking for 36 cents a share but the company could only earn 31 cents for the previous 3 months.

Announcement
    The announced earnings were weak and the gross margins came in tighter than had been anticipated. An expected gross margin of 18.4% was not met as the company reported a lower 17.2% gross margin. The company has now missed 3 out of the last 4 quarters and analysts are decreasing their expectations for the full year accordingly.

Value
    If the company can grow at the 21.4% rate that had been expected then the current price/earnings ratio of 16.25 is a decent price. But the growth is not coming in as high as anticipated which makes the current P/E questionable and could lead to further decline in stock price. Facing tough competition overseas and having to reduce its margins to compete on price in new markets is the contributing factor to a reduced earnings outlook.