Dell's Earnings Coverage Is Hit or Miss
08/29/08 - 01:21 PM EDT
Marek Fuchs
We saw yesterday with Dell's(DELL Quote - Cramer on DELL - Stock Picks) earnings report that even when the business media have the decency to mention an important smaller point that they regularly miss, the careless little devils leave out the biggest factor, the one that should never be missed.
Cue Dell, which reported earnings yesterday that were, in a word or two, totally lame. Though Dell's revenues were up 11% -- even more than expected -- net income was down 17%. You've heard the expression "not too shabby"? Well, this was -- in highly technical economic terms -- pretty shabby. But the Associated Press, at the very bottom of a story covering the earnings, brings the savvy investor up to date on a small though not insignificant point -- a point, as The Business Press Maven grouses all the time, that the business media usually forget about. How is good ol' Dell doing on those firings it announced a little while ago? Remember that in the perverse world of business, firings are, at least in the short run, a good source for cost savings -- something that Dell obviously needs. Remember, too, that too often companies announce a batch of firings to come, the stock pops, but the company never gets around to firing that many -- or it has to offer sweetened departure deals, which means more write-offs. The business media, for their part in the whole sordid mess, usually drop interest in the number the moment it's announced, and the stock runs higher. Details to follow? Puh-lease. Follow-up must be for wimps.
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