Dell Falls Short on Revenue Line

Dell(DELL Quote) missed Wall Street's revenue estimates for its fiscal third quarter Thursday, as the strain of the information-technology spending slowdown ate into its top line.

In the three months ended Oct. 31, Dell had sales of $15.16 billion, down 3% year-over-year, and well below analysts' estimate of $16.22 billion.

The Round Rock, Texas, computer maker did have a better-than-expected profit, posting net income of $727 million, or 37 cents a share, compared with earnings of $766 million, or 34 cents a share, in the same period last year. Analysts had estimated earnings of 31 cents a share. ...