Dell's Focus on Market Share Gains Should Pay Off for Investors

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"Dell's server division reported 4% higher sales on 21% higher unit volume...The other cash cow in Dell's barn is the laptop sector, where 43% year-over-year unit growth produced 22% higher sales...According to the latest available report from DisplaySearch, another independent market researcher, that's better than the 41% unit growth in the entire notebook market. It's also faster than market leader HP and its 42% annual increase, by the skin of Dell's teeth."

"Dell's focus remains on growing units faster than the industry," says the press release, which then goes on to list secondary goals like "increasing revenue, profitability and cash flow, and making decisions that deliver the best long-term result." Market share above all, and never mind the margins...From that vantage point, the quarter was a smashing success."

"Dell has a lot of lost market share to steal back before turning on the profit engines at full power. In other words, as nice as this quarter was, the real result of Michael Dell's rebound efforts should come later. That's a pleasant thought for the company's shareholders."