Both Dell and HP’s first quarter sales suggest that PC purchases haven’t slowed, despite the easing of the pandemic.
Dell’s Jan-March sales rose 12 per cent, to AUD$31.65 billion, outperforming industry forecasts of AUD$30.1 billion.
HP reported a sales jump of 27 per cent to AUD$20.5 billion over the quarter, causing it to raise its yearly profit target.
HP’s PC-related sales rose 27 per cent in the three-month period, while Dell’s sales from consumer PCs rose 42 per cent, to AUD$4.5 billion during the quarter. They shipped roughly 19 million and 13 million units, respectively.
Despite this, both companies saw their shares drop after the earnings reports: Dell went down one per cent, while HP fell six per cent. This seems to shows a lack of investor confidence in continuing growth by the companies.
HP put its rosy quarter down to a surge on laptop sales for those returning to work and school, and printing and supplies revenue rebounding as workers return to offices. Unfortunately, components shortages will slow this uptake.
“We do expect revenue to be driven by available supply rather than demand,” Chief Financial Officer Marie Myers said. “Components and logistics costs are headwinds.”
Dell’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Sweet also acknowledged that supply shortages and the resultant rise in parts cost are “things we’re going to have to navigate through, and they’ll be with us for a while.”
“In the long term we’re very optimistic about this space. If the pandemic did anything it accelerated customers thinking that they need to invest in technology.”
“There has been a substantial acceleration in digital transformation across the globe and you can see it in our results with record first quarter revenue,” Dell Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said, adding: “Looking ahead, we see technology becoming increasingly central to the global economy and society.”
