'Beyond the Box' Approach Lifts Gateway to Earnings Expectations

Updated from 5:02 p.m. ET

Gateway (GTW Quote) reported third-quarter earnings in line with Wall Street's estimates after the close of regular trading Thursday.

Gateway said it earned $152.6 million, or 46 cents a share. That figure is up from the 35 cents a share the company earned in the year-ago period, and matches the expectations of the 20 analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial. The company reported revenue of $2.53 billion, generally in line with analysts' expectations.

Warnings of slowing sales from Intel (INTC Quote), Dell (DELL Quote) and Apple (AAPL Quote) have sent PC stocks sharply lower in recent weeks. But Gateway's focus on the consumer seems to have allowed it to escape the weakness in the corporate and education markets. Sales of PCs to consumers increased 27% from last year. ...