“Dell Inc. said Wednesday that federal regulators had begun a formal investigation into the computer giant, which had been part of an informal inquiry since August,” Matt Slagle reports for The Associated Press.
“Dell also said it was postponing the release of its third quarter earnings report — scheduled for Thursday after markets close — until sometime later in the month,” Slagle reports.
“The company said the earnings report delay was unrelated to the widening Securities and Exchange Commission probe. A company spokesman told The Associated Press that the company did not know what the SEC was specifically investigating,” Slagle reports. “In a press release issued late Wednesday, Dell said the delay was due to the ‘level of complexity the company is facing in the preparation of its preliminary results.'”
“The third-quarter report will be posted as press release and won’t include the usual conference calls where analysts and reporters can ask questions of founder Michael Dell and Chief Executive Kevin Rollins,” Slagle reports. “Analysts, on average, had been looking for third-quarter earnings of 24 cents per share on sales of $14.44 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial. Dell has yet to file its second quarter earnings with federal regulators because it has been trying to resolve unspecified accounting issues with its internal audit committee.”
Full article here.
That’s right, we said “beleaguered.” What would we do to fix the beleaguered PC box assembler/former MP3 player-maker/owner of two whole retail stores with zero inventory? We’re so glad you asked! We’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Why buy a Dell when Apple’s Intel-based computers will run both Mac OS X and Windows? – June 08, 2005
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: Dell’s ‘DJ Ditty’ flash-based MP3 player is dead – August 22, 2006
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: Dell dumps ‘DJ’ hard-drive MP3 player line – February 04, 2006
Embrace and Extinguish in action: TechIQ’s ‘The VAR Guy’ dumps Windows, switches to Mac OS X – September 25, 2006
My switch from Windows XP to Apple Mac OS X – August 30, 2006
$399 for Windows Vista Ultimate?! (Hint: Get a Mac) – August 29, 2006
Development approaches of Mac OS X Leopard vs. Windows Vista yield very different results – August 15, 2006
The Age: Switch to Apple Mac; just say no to Microsoft Windows – August 15, 2006
NY Times covers the basics of switching from Windows PC to Apple Mac – August 10, 2006
Analyst: Apple’s new Mac OS X Leopard sets new bar, leaves Microsoft’s Vista in the dust – August 08, 2006
Liberal blogger on switch from Windows to Mac: I’m sold – August 03, 2006
Symantec researcher: At this time, there are no file-infecting viruses that can infect Mac OS X – July 13, 2006
Sophos: Apple Mac OS X’s security record unscathed; Windows Vista malware just a matter of time – July 07, 2006
Computerworld: Microsoft Windows Vista a distant second-best to Apple Mac OS X – June 02, 2006
Top Ten Reasons I’m Glad I’m a Mac Switcher – June 20, 2006
Switching To The Mac: A Guide For Windows Users – June 15, 2006
Sydney Morning Herald Tech columnist dumps Microsoft Windows, switches to Apple Mac – June 13, 2006
Moving Microsoft Internet Explorer Favorites to Apple Safari Bookmarks when you switch – June 08, 2006
Apple Boot Camp’s ‘Windows Insecurity Blanket’ helps buyers decide to switch to Macs – May 19, 2006
PC Magazine: Top ten questions and answers about switching to Apple Macintosh – May 18, 2006
Macs that run Windows will calm potential switchers’ irrational fears – April 06, 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
Dell cannot compete with Apple’s new Mac Pro price or feature set – August 15, 2006
Apple Mac Pro with/ 20” Cinema Display less expensive than Dell Precision 690 sans monitor – August 10, 2006
Bear Stearns: Apple’s new Mac Pro, Xserve pricing well below comparable Dell systems – August 09, 2006
Apple passes Dell in market value – May 02, 2006
Apple Mac is #1 in European education market, pushes Dell down into second place – February 03, 2006
Therre is that B word again….I love it!
hahaha
What a great story Dell and Microsoft will make for the business scholls after all the money’s been lost.
They’ll be studying it still in 2106..
Some of my friends have Dell’s and they swear by them… and at them!
And,
Peterson had a Dell once.
This seems more serious than Apple’s issue.
Yeah, I read somewhere else they are being investigated for recklessly pushing millions sub-standard PC boxes with a sub-standard OS on the public, costing the US and world economy Billions of dollars!
once the market opens, this chart will show real-time Dell vs. Apple market cap – it is fun to watch:
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=aapl+dell
They seem to be in a dell of a mess, what a pity.
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MDN magic word “strength” i am sure MR Dell is using the term ‘god give me strength” as i type
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Meanwhile, AAPL’s market cap stands at $16.5 Billion more than Dell’s and that lead is growing…
OMG, beleagured Gateway has a market cap of only $695 million.
A year is truly a long time in the computer industry.
On 11/18/05, Dell’s market cap was $71,563,434,750 and Apple’s valuation was $53,573,760,240.
As I write, almost a year on, the situations are reversed: Apple is now the more valuable at $72,324,852,520 and Dell’s market cap is now $56,290,594,920.
So despite being the 800-pound gorilla of the PC hardware marketplace, Dell’s self-defeating model of reducing margin has now come back to bite Dell, Rollins and the rest of the board in the ass. What’s more, one can only imagine that the situation will get worse: Wall St. has already signalled its unhappiness of having results delayed and – should the SEC investigation become more focussed on outright malfeasance than genuine incompetence – Dell’s market cap could reduce yet further as the class action suits start flying.
Oh well, they could always shut the company down…
can someone explain what marketcap means ?
(I´m only sixteen – if thats an excuse ,…=
= )
it’s thrilling to be on the good end of the pointy stick.
sucker,
market cap is market capitalisation, the sum total of the value of all shares. In other words, a measure of what investors think the company is worth.
Market Share: The value of a company. It is determined by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the current stock price.
Apple (AAPL) has 852,988,000 shares outstanding * current share price of $85.43 = $72,870,764,840.00
Hi Sucker,
Being 16, surely you know of Google. I typed in “market cap” and found this at http://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/03/031703.asp:
Calculating Market Cap
Market capitalization is just a fancy name for a straightforward concept. Quite simply, it refers to the value of a company, that is, the market value of its outstanding shares. This figure is found by taking the stock price and multiplying it by the total number of shares outstanding. For example, if Cory’s Tequila Corporation (CTC) was trading at $20 per share and had 1 million shares outstanding, then the market capitalization would be $20 million ($20 x 1 million shares). It’s that simple.
Hope this helps…
Market cap is the overall value of a company’s stock…
I’m impressed with the quantity and quality of help offered to our 16 year old friend.
My I make a suggestion to you, young feller? You should think about a handle/name change there Sucker. Unless, of course, you own a Dell. If you do own a Dell, then I think you chose the perfect name.
If you want to get an idea of how beleaguered Dell is, hop over to TMO’s Apple Finance Board for the various threads concerning Dell. It is an eye opener to realize that Dell is a one trick pony who’s trick is old and all played out.
And the corruption now being exposed for Dell is also exposing the massive corruption of the Wall Street firms and analysts who pimp for them. Just start reading the various threads at
http://www.macobserver.com/forums/viewforum.php?forum=7&6
You will then get an understanding of why the analysts’ “research” is so suspect. They are largely a bunch of crooks bringing in the suckers by yelling “buy” to limit the losses of the Wall Street firms’ big institutional investors. The crooks are selling their big investors’ positions in Dell that they got them into in the first place at the expense of the small investor suckers.
So when these bozos denigrate Apple, ignore them. Stick with the fundamentals, not the corrupt advise of those who profit from your losses.
BTW, I am a long term investor in AAPL. I do not play the options game as I think too much of it is rigged.
AAPL is up a buck thirty, and I see this lovely headline.
“Beleaguered Dell”
What a way to start the day! =)
-c
MW: ‘child’ (-like Dell throws tantrum, calls Steve a ‘doody-head’)
The end is near…
Beleaguered
Beleaguered
Beleaguered
hahahahahaha
it really is a fun word to say now that the shoe is on the other foot. I know I am being childish but…..
Beleaguered, Beleaguered, Beleaguered ……….. hahahahah