It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Dell Technologies (DELL). Shares have lost about 4.4% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Dell Technologies due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Dell Q3 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Up Y/Y
Dell Technologies reported non-GAAP earnings of $2.15 per share for third-quarter fiscal 2025, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.37%. The bottom line increased 14.4% year over year.
Revenues increased 9.5% year over year to $24.37 billion but missed the consensus mark by 0.79%. The upside was driven by exceptional performance in Traditional and AI servers and a return to growth in the commercial PC business.
Considering impressive third-quarter performance, DELL has maintained its strong fiscal 2025 guidance for revenues and earnings, which is expected to boost share price momentum.
DELL’s Q3 Top-Line Detail
Product revenues rose 12.7% year over year to $18.29 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.89%.
Services revenues moved up 1% year over year to $6.08 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.6%.
Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) revenues increased 33.8% year over year to $11.37 billion.
The upside can be attributed to servers and networking revenues of 7.36 billion, which grew 58.2% year over year, with demand strength across AI and traditional servers. Storage revenues increased 4.2% year over year to $4 billion.
In the reported quarter, Dell achieved a record $3.6 billion in AI-optimized server orders, driven by Tier 2 cloud service providers and growing Enterprise demand. The flagship PowerEdge XE9680 experienced strong demand, fueling Dell’s momentum in the AI sector and highlighting its leadership in meeting advanced computing needs.
Dell shipped $2.9 billion worth of AI servers in the third quarter, and the AI server backlog remained healthy at $4.5 billion.
Client Solutions Group (CSG) revenues were $12.13 billion and declined 1.2% year over year. Commercial Client revenues increased 3.1% year over year to $10.14 billion while Consumer revenues fell 18.4% to $1.99 billion.
DELL’s Operating Details
Dell’s fiscal third-quarter non-GAAP gross profit increased 3.1% year over year to $5.44 billion. The gross margin contracted 140 basis points (bps) year over year to 22.3%.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses fell 2.6% year over year to $2.89 billion. As a percentage of revenues, SG&A expenses contracted 150 bps to 11.9%.
Research and development (R&D) expenses increased 7.7% year over year to $745 million in the reported quarter. As a percentage of revenues, R&D expenses decreased by 10 bps to 3.1%.
Non-GAAP operating expenses declined 2.2% year over year to $3.24 billion. Operating expenses, as a percentage of revenues, contracted 160 bps on a year-over-year basis to 13.3%.
The non-GAAP operating income was $2.2 billion, up 12% year over year. The operating margin contracted 20 bps year over year to 9%.
The ISG segment’s operating income surged 41.1% year over year to $1.51 billion. The CSG segment’s operating income was $694 million, down 25% year over year.
DELL’s Balance Sheet Details
As of Nov. 1, 2024, DELL had $5.23 billion in cash and cash equivalents compared with $4.55 billion as of Aug. 2, 2024.
Total debt was $25.02 billion as of Nov. 1, 2024, compared with $24.52 billion as of Aug. 2, 2024.
The company generated a cash flow from operations of $1.55 billion and the adjusted free cash flow was $716 million in the third-quarter fiscal 2025.
Dell returned $413 million to its shareholders through share repurchases and paid $312 million in dividends, resulting in a total capital return of $725 billion.
DELL’s Fiscal 2025 Guidance
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, revenues are expected to be between $24 billion and $25 billion, with a midpoint of $24.5 billion reflecting 10% growth.
Dell anticipates 13% growth at the midpoint for the combined ISG and CSG, with ISG expected to increase in the mid-twenties. CSG revenues are expected to be up low single digits year over year.
Non-GAAP earnings are expected to be $2.5 per share (+/- 10 cents), indicating 14% growth at the midpoint.
For the full fiscal year 2025, revenues are expected to grow 9%. Non-GAAP earnings are expected to be $7.81 per share (+/- 10 cents), up 10% year over year.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
It turns out, estimates review have trended downward during the past month.
VGM Scores
Currently, Dell Technologies has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Dell Technologies has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
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