Dell results surpass estimates on strong PC demand; shares jump

(Reuters) – Dell Technologies Inc beat revenue expectations for the ninth straight quarter on Thursday after enterprises invested heavily in its desktops and notebooks to support hybrid work.

The PC maker’s shares jumped 7% after the bell as it also trumped expectations for quarterly profit with a 62% jump and said revenue growth was powered by continued strength in commercial PCs.

Dell’s results come at a time when technology companies are battling a global chip shortage and supply chain disruptions made worse by the Ukraine war and fresh lockdowns in China.

Revenue at Dell’s client solutions group – home to its hardware units – rose 17% in the quarter, with commercial PC revenue jumping 22% to $12 billion.

Total revenue rose 16% to $26.12 billion in the first quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $25.04 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Net income from continuing operations rose to $1.07 billion from $659 million a year earlier.

Excluding items, Texas-based Dell earned $1.84 per share, beating estimates of $1.39 per share.

Earlier in the day, chip firm Broadcom Inc said it would buy VMware in a $61 billion cash-and-stock deal. The cloud computing firm was spun off from Dell in 2021.

Michael Dell, the nearly four-decade-old company’s founder and top boss, is VMware’s biggest investor with a 40% stake.

(Reporting by Richard Rohan Francis and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel and Devika Syamnath)