“Dell today presented the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with cleaned-up accounts for the years 2003-2006 and the first quarter in 2007. The restatements show that Dell earned $92m less net income than it had previously stated in earlier filings,” Drew Cullen reports for The Register.
“In August, the company said that it might have to write down up $50m-$150m to put right ‘accounting errors and irregularities.’ Unnamed senior executives were blamed for allowing, or asking for, the books to be cooked to show that quarterly targets were met,” Cullen reports.
Cullen reports, “In the context of Dell’s $12bn net income during the period, the writedown is a drop in the ocean. But what does it say for the company culture at the time, that such chicanery could be allowed to happen?”
Cullen reports, “In August, Dell said it had fired or retrained or reassigned or reprimanded those involved. It named no names… Goldman Sachs also reckons that Dell’s new retail channel will add $500m-$1bn in revenue over the next year (some margin of error, there). In recent weeks, Dell signed up Wal-Mart and Staples in the US.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Some things deserve each other. For example, Dell PCs and Microsoft Windows go together like green on puke. And Microsoft, Dell, and Wal-Mart are a threesome made in hell.
Related articles:
Beleaguered Dell struggles in Wal-Mart – August 27, 2007
ChangeWave survey shows great news for Apple Mac, ominous news for Dell – August 20, 2007
Beleaguered Dell to restate four years of results, wipe up to $150 million off tainted books – August 17, 2007
Dell looks to virtualization to make their PCs a little less OS-limited; won’t speculate on Mac OS X – August 08, 2007
Apple now worth double Dell’s market value – July 27, 2007
Beleaguered Dell to lay off 8,000 employees as 1Q earnings dip – May 31, 2007
Beleaguered Dell sued over shoddy tech support, creating ‘Dell Hell’ – May 16, 2007
Forget VIsta: Beleaguered Dell brings back Windows XP, people also asking for Mac OS X – April 19, 2007
Beleaguered Dell’s numbers don’t add up – April 09, 2007
Jim Cramer: Michael Dell is no Steve Jobs – March 30, 2007
Beleaguered Dell finds evidence of misconduct in internal investigation – March 30, 2007
Market researcher suggests that beleaguered Dell open high-end nightclubs – March 19, 2007
Beleaguered Dell slashes forecast for notebook shipments by 20-percent – March 13, 2007
BusinessWeek: Beleaguered Dell pulling out the pink slips? – March 08, 2007
Beleaguered Dell: Shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders – March 02, 2007
Beleaguered Dell’s earnings drop 33% – March 01, 2007
Beleaguered one-trick pony Dell faces unclear future – February 14, 2007
Biting words on Apple come back to haunt Dell – February 10, 2007
Dell faces investor lawsuit over ‘illegal Intel kickbacks’ – February 02, 2007
Michael Dell is no Steve Jobs – February 02, 2007
BusinessWeek: Welcome back, Michael Dell – don’t get too comfortable – February 01, 2007
Rollins out as beleaguered Dell’s CEO, replaced by Michael Dell immediately – January 31, 2007
Total eclipse of Michael Dell goes off as predicted – January 10, 2007
SEC starts formal probe of beleaguered Dell – November 16, 2006
Apple does it again: New Macbook Pros much cheaper than Dell – October 25, 2006
Dell feels the heat from Apple – October 04, 2006
The Motley Fool: ‘Intel to Dell: you guys stink’ – September 28, 2006
Beleaguered Dell’s OS-limited PC sales ‘declining rapidly below expectations’ – analyst – September 21, 2006
Fortune compares Mac vs. Dell: ‘you’ll get more for your money with Apple’ – September 11, 2006
AP: Time to think different, Apple Mac beats Dell on price, software compatibility, and more – August 23, 2006
Dell profit falls almost in half; announces informal SEC probe – August 18, 2006
Dell cannot compete with Apple’s new Mac Pro price or feature set – August 15, 2006
Bear Stearns: Apple’s new Mac Pro, Xserve pricing well below comparable Dell systems – August 09, 2006
Dell warns of earnings miss; shares plunge 15% – July 21, 2006
Survey shows big jump in consumer interest in buying Apple Mac; Dell takes steep slide – July 06, 2006
Dell warns 1Q earnings will miss mark; shares tumble – May 08, 2006
Apple passes Dell in market value – May 02, 2006
InformationWeek: Apple Mac run Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux; Dell and HP should be concerned – May 01, 2006
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Apple Mac is #1 in European education market, pushes Dell down into second place – February 03, 2006
Steve Jobs emails Apple team: Michael Dell not the best prognosticator, Apple worth more than Dell – January 16, 2006
Dell’s new retail channel will add $500m-$1bn in revenue over the next year
Do you see why Apple should start selling Mac’s with Windows installed now?
I’m not saying Apple should dump Mac OS X, but rather install Windows alongside Mac OS X if it will make a sale of Apple hardware.
This tactic will trump any attempt by Dell or others to enter the retail space owned by Apple.
The Dullards will aways buy their Dulls online anyway, it’s the new fish Apple needs.
“Goldman Sachs also reckons that Dell’s new retail channel will add $500m-$1bn in revenue over the next year (some margin of error, there)”
some margin? try huge margin, unless – between means negative $1bn
So instead of being a mistake, it sounds like it was a deliberate move to mislead shareholders.
Sanctions? Penalties?
“This tactic will trump any attempt by Dell or others to enter the retail space owned by Apple.”
This comment proves you have no clue why people choose Apple over Dell. It’s not just because Apple has a presence in retail, it’s beacuse they have a superior product and can actually offer innovative advantages over Dell because Dell only offers a box with other people’s products slapped on.
For Apple to sell Windows boxes just makes them another commodity box chucker. There are no margins in that business.
I wonder how much it will cost Apple to uncook their books.
Way to go Steve, you just can’t make enough money hand over fist, can you? You have to steal it from the company too.
Way to run a company.
Bad, BAD Dell!
“Save the Matte Screens!
Dell’s new retail channel will add $500m-$1bn in revenue over the next year
Do you see why Apple should start selling Mac’s with Windows installed now?”
first of all, you would have more credibility if you posted under a name that wasn’t stupid. all 7 of the people who care about matte screens now care what you have to say….
second, no, i don’t see why Apple should sell windows. you are making a connection that doesn’t exist.
“the bottled water market is worth 25 billion a year for mount olympus waters! see why Apple should bottle water?!?”
brilliant!
MW: “lead” as in what was in those paint chips you ate as a child…..
Be careful. This could happen to Apple too. Historically, Apple’s finance dept. has had its share of ethically challenged decisions too.
Do you see why Apple should start selling Mac’s with Windows installed now?
Hell NO!!! Craposoft is so unstable on any machine. Think about every PC owner their with their repsected machine from what ever company… they at one point say “i hate my PC”, this all due to an inferior OS. Most mac users love theirs. I don’t think apple wants people starting to hate their product because of a badly written OS made by Craposoft. If it’s a money thing you want them to have, then time is all they need. Look at their growth right now, incredible! Soon the big giant will be choke by an Apple.
come on man, craposoft? You can do better than that.
Think of a new term, then come back when you are ready.
Go ahead, we’ll still be here.
Comment from: Save the Matte Screens!
“Do you see why Apple should start selling Mac’s with Windows installed now?”
I do not see any connection at all. All I can see is that is Apple starts putting windoze on their Macs then the Mac will soon just be another virus infested windoze box and the current sales phenomenon will drop dramatically.
I agree completely that Apple should NEVER put windos on the Mac. It should still be allowed (by the user) but discouraged.
Hey, why the hate for Wal•Mart!
Maybe it’s the MDN editing, taking various snippets of the article, but why did they juxtapose the new retail REVENUE against NET INCOME? It confuses people into thinking the $92M NI charge is somehow tiny compared to the potential new REVENUE of $500M to $1B. That’s apples to oranges. I imagine the new retail program is NOT going to make any money, as it’s NEW! There are startup costs that need to be amortized, and the product mix is going to be the cheapest crap Dell has so they can sell it in Walmart. Sure, it’s sales, but where’s the profit?
Anyway, to the idiot who wants to save the matte screens, does he realize that Apple sells $1B in its own retail initiative per QUARTER? While the estimate is for Dell to sell $500M to $1B in the next YEAR? Apple is selling at least 4x the amount Dell is projected to sell in the next year, and Apple’s margin is much higher, as we all know.
” Dell PCs and Microsoft Windows go together like green on puke…..”
hahahahahahah…choke…cough…gasp….I think I’m gonna produce a sidewalk pizza….. hahahahahahah…glurp…..
This links to the earlier piece on the tactics used in the Apple Stores.
Wal-Mart SELLS things.
Staples SELLS things.
The Apple Store helps you BUY things.
This may seem a subtly difference to the marketers at Dell, but it is significant to the purchasers. Sure, some folks will come out of an Apple Store thinking the clerks “didn’t try hard enough”. DEC “salesmen” were accused of that – and of rigging the trials – and DEC eventually lost out. Good thing Apple is selling to a different market.
Dave
“Microsoft, Dell, and Wal-Mart ” = the Devil’s trifecta. “Save the matte screens” is nothing more than a winblows troll.
Hhhheeeeeeyyyyyy mmmmmaaaaannnnn! Wwwhhhhhyyyyy ddddoooooo I feeeeeeeeeel soooooo sssmmmalllll aannndd weeeiiiirrrrddddd toooooodddaaaaayyy?
Craposoft is so unstable on any machine. Think about every PC owner their with their repsected machine from what ever company… they at one point say “i hate my PC”, this all due to an inferior OS. Most mac users love theirs. I don’t think apple wants people starting to hate their product because of a badly written OS made by Craposoft.
Crapsoft exactly!
Imagine Apple selling Mac’s with Windows installed as the customer wants along with Mac OS X. When Windows fails, like it always does, the user gives Mac OS X a try and gets used to it, likes it and begins to use it exclusively.
Then there is a nice command in Mac OS X that will transfer all photos and documents over to the Mac OS X side and delete Windows permantly.
You see now? You need to give users something they are used to using and then give them the option to try something better without losing their Windows security blanket.
Then if they make the decision to switch, to make it a snap to move everything over and eliminate Windows.
Call it a Mac OS X trojan.