Dell, a computer-manufacturing company, fell 63 percent from $784 million last year for net income of $290 million. Total revenue fell $12.34 billion.
Mr. Dell himself isn't too worried - he expects a replacement cycle to begin with the launch of Windows 7. Market share went down 34 percent in desktop sales and 20 percent in notebook sales, which leaves a lot of room for growth I think.
Analysts argue that Dell's options could be dwindling if the company doesn't act soon. Oracle, for example, snapped up Dell's longtime competitor Sun Microsystems, and Hewlett-Packard last year bought services giant Electronic Data Systems.
"Your goals are limited," said Ashok Kumar, analyst at Collins Stewart. "Eventually, Dell will need to improve its service profile, and candidates are few and far between." Dell had $9.7 billion in cash at the end of the first quarter .
So who would buy Dell? PS? A South American potentate?
