Once Again, Dell Delivers

Updated from 4:43 p.m. EST

For once, the optimists on Wall Street won't be disappointed. Delivering its latest financial results, Dell (DELL Quote) not only met Wall Street's estimates on the nose, it also gave guidance that's exactly on target with current projections for the quarter now under way. That's a rarity at a time when technology analysts routinely slash profit outlooks after earnings reports.

Yet investors, proving themselves a surly bunch who've come to take Dell's gains for granted, quickly knocked the stock off the 52-week high of $30.94 that it reached in Thursday's trading. After it released results, shares slid 88 cents, or 2.84%, to $30.06.

Dell posted fiscal third-quarter sales of $9.1 billion, up nearly 10% sequentially and 22% above year-ago levels. ...