Dell Feeds Slowdown Fears

But Dell's latest guidance makes it clear that the company has still not hit upon the magic formula.

Dell's projected revenue for the second quarter represents only 4% growth from the year-ago period. Earnings are slated to be roughly half of what they were in the second quarter of 2005, when Dell posted EPS of 41 cents.

Many investors and analysts continue to question whether Dell's strategy of cutting prices is really the cure to its troubles.

"The problem is that the market is not elastic enough for pricing to create sufficient incremental opportunity," wrote Goldman's Conigliaro.

Dell's poor positioning in notebooks, international, consumer and retail markets -- all areas where rival H-P is strong -- are the real issues that need to be addressed by Dell, suggested Conigliaro.