Dell's, VMware's 4Q Results Beat Wall Street Targets

By Maria Armental

Strong notebook sales to meet high demand for remote work and schooling during the coronavirus pandemic drove Dell Technologies Inc.'s performance in the latest quarter and helped Dell report record revenue for the year.

Dell's client solutions group, which includes desktops and notebooks, saw $13.8 billion in revenue for the quarter and a record $48.4 billion for the year, up 5% from the previous year, the company said.

VMware Inc., which is controlled by Dell, saw a 7% quarterly revenue increase to $3.29 billion.

"In the past year, our team rallied to support our customers and partners worldwide as technology played a central role in keeping our society, economy and lives moving forward," said in a statement Jeff Clarke, Dell chief operating officer. "We generated record revenue of $94.2 billion this year by helping customers adapt to new work-and-learn-from-anywhere realities and are in an advantaged position to capitalize on the projected mid-single digits growth in IT spending in 2021."

Overall, Dell's profit for the quarter rose to $1.23 billion, or $1.22 billion million after incremental dilution from VMware. On a per-share basis, profit rose to $1.57, or $2.70 on an adjusted basis.

Fourth-quarter net revenue rose to $26.11 billion, or $26.15 billion on an adjusted basis.

Meanwhile, VMware's profit for the January quarter more than doubled to $791 million. On a per-share basis, profit rose to $1.87, or $2.21 as adjusted.

The results beat analysts' projections, according to FactSet.

Dell didn't address on an earnings release plans to spin off its controlling stake in VMware, and VMware didn't update where the search for its new chief executive stands. Zane Rowe, VMware's chief financial officer, was appointed interim CEO, succeeding Pat Gelsinger who returned to Intel Corp. as CEO.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2021 16:55 ET (21:55 GMT)

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