Dell Hits Earnings Target, Issues Second-Quarter Warning

Updated from 5:42 p.m. ET

Just as it said it would do last week, Dell (DELL Quote) Thursday released fiscal first-quarter earnings that matched analysts' expectations. But the company lowered expectations for second-quarter earnings and sales.

The first quarter first: In the period ended May 4, the Austin, Texas-based PC maker reported earnings of $462 million, or 17 cents a share. That's exactly the figure that analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call were looking for, but it's down from the 19 cents a share Dell earned last year. Sales, meanwhile, totaled $8 billion, in line with estimates and 10% higher than their level a year ago. There were no surprises in those numbers. Dell had told investors last week that it expected to post these very results, which are in line with the lowered outlook the company gave when it reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results in mid-February.

Dell's outlook was a bit less predictable. The company said it expects sales to fall 3% to 5% this quarter from the first quarter, translating to a range of $7.6 billion to $7.76 billion, or as much as $450 million below current expectations. In accordance with the reduced revenue forecast, Dell said its earnings would likely come in between 15 cents and 17 cents a share. Analysts were expecting 18 cents a share ...