Motley Fool on Dell

The Q1 conference call suggests that the company's execution is coming on more slowly than many investors would like. Cash flow and balance sheet are enviable. My low ball mid at $18.90 stands to be filled-- hopefully this week if the market crashes further.

Dell Is Building a Global Comeback

By Anders Bylund February 29, 2008

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Like everybody else, Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) is sidestepping the slow domestic economy by growing at breakneck speed abroad.

Dell just reported earnings of $0.31 per share on $16 billion of revenue, which translates to a decent 10% year-over-year sales boost but slightly lower earnings. But the international growth story can still redeem the ailing giant, if you give it some time and TLC. Every piece of the geographic puzzle has its place in Dell's big strategic picture.

The Americas remain the mainstay of the company's operations with around 60% of total revenue. More specifically, North America contributes 49% of the global sales. That cash makes for a stable operating platform from which Dell can reach for higher-risk, greater-opportunity markets.

The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing market, with 28% year-over-year revenue growth, but it's still the smallest contributor to sales at a modest 14% share. It's arguably the arena with the heaviest competition, as well: Everybody from Sun (Nasdaq: JAVA) to Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) wants a serving of that sweet pie. Also, local heavyweights like Lenovo -- which took the personal computing division off IBM's (NYSE: IBM) hands a few years ago -- and Acer have a strong home-field advantage here.

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa hold the middle ground with a 26% contribution to sales, but this group also boasts the highest operating margins of the bunch. Dell is taking advantage of that situation by starting a manufacturing plant in Poland. That's smack in the middle of a region where labor is cheap but the middle class is growing in both size and affluence, and there aren't any local-hero competitors to speak of. Good move, Mike.

Dell is knee-deep in a year-long turnaround effort, and there is still a lot of work left to do before claiming any kind of victory. But there's an enviable balance in Dell's operations across geographic regions and product categories alike -- think Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) with tougher competition. In a few years, we should be able to look back at today's low, low share price as the best buy-in point in years. Dell has the tools, the vision, and the chutzpah to get it done.