Dell Technologies ( NYSE: DELL ) reports its fourth-quarter results after the close of trading Thursday, and the PC and enterprise technology giant's report might add to investors' so-so sentiment about the sector.
Wall Street analysts currently expect Dell ( DELL ) to earn $1.64 a share, excluding one-time items, on revenue of $23.5B for the quarter that ended in January. During the same period a year ago, Dell ( DELL ) earned $1.72 a share, on $27.8B in revenue.
Dell's ( DELL ) report comes on the heels of HP ( HPQ ), which on Tuesday gave a disappointing first-quarter report, but maintained its full-year earnings outlook. Analysts said that HP's ( HPQ ) forecast suggests that the PC market could be on track to pick up in the second half of this year.
For Dell ( DELL ), the company's storage and enterprise computing business will also get as much attention as its PC sales. Analyst Wamsi Mohan, of Bank of America Securities, said that recent customer surveys provided an uncertain look about whether demand for storage devices will remain strong in the months ahead.
Seeking Alpha author Stephen Simpson agreed, and said that Dell's ( DELL ) enterprise business might end up providing the biggest risk to the company's business outlook .
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Dell's earnings to hinge on state of PCs and storage deals