Rumors of IBM (IBM) exiting the personal computer business have been confirmed with the PC giant selling its $10 billion-a-year business to China-based Lenovo for $1.75 billion in cash and stock. Margins on PC’s are terrible, so this a clearly a good move for IBM as far as profitability is concerned. The stock has moved up on the rumors, but don’t expect IBM shares to return to their former glory. The company is so large that the bottom line effect won’t be gigantic by any means.
The PC market continues to see the number of suppliers dwindle. Compaq merged into Hewlett Packard, eMachines was bought by Gateway, and now IBM is gone as well. All of this bodes well for industry leader Dell Computer (DELL). Dell hasn’t had any trouble increasing its market share in the face of mass competition, but fewer of them surely can’t hurt. Michael Dell continues to execute flawlessly, with his company’s latest focus, printers, racking up huge sales already.
Dell stock has been on a tear ever since they reported a blowout quarter several weeks back. Even after the run, the stock doesn’t look terribly expensive. After accounting for the company’s net cash, DELL shares trade at 25 times 2005 estimates of $1.56 per share, with sales expected to rise 16 percent in the coming fiscal year. Any pullback would make Dell shares even more attractive.
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