Dell posted its first decline in revenue since 2001 in the fourth
quarter of last year, falling 5.1 percent from a year earlier, The New York Times reports:

Because the company has failed to file audited results to the S.E.C. for the last three quarters, Nasdaq
has threatened to delist it. But Dell said that Nasdaq had given it
until May 4 to submit information before taking any action.

Dell also said that the sale of real estate added $36 million, or 1
cent a share, to earnings. The company said it did not pay $184 million
in employee bonuses because of its poor performance, which added
another 6 cents to earnings.

Wall Street analysts were not expecting a good quarter as evidence
mounted that Dell?s personal computer sales were flagging. IDC, the
technology market analysis firm, reported that Dell?s worldwide
shipments in the fourth quarter dropped 8.4 percent while the overall
market grew 8.7 percent. It also said Hewlett-Packard surpassed Dell as the world?s biggest PC maker as Hewlett?s shipments grew 23.8 percent in the final three months of 2006.

The problem for Dell was clearly its inability to attract consumers
and business customers to its notebook computers. While the overall
market for that type of portable computer boomed ? 20 percent growth in
the United States alone, according to Gartner, a market analysis firm ?
Dell had declining sales.

A pretty stark contrast to the heady days less than three years ago,
when Dell executive Kip Thompson was negotiating with North Carolina
for incentives to build a manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem:

? “Two thousand jobs,” Thompson reportedly told (Commerce Secretary Jim) Fain, “shouldn’t you
be happy with no revenue?”

? “If we made a decision today, we wouldn’t come to NC. Here’s what
it’ll take: 1) free land; 2) free building; 3) no taxes; 4) training at
$5 million; 5) participation in creation of future value in the
community.”

? “Not wowed here — not sure state’s stepping up here. Really is
going to take some signif[icant] state participation.”

? “…If a state like NC can’t get after this, I’m worried for our
country — there’s a certain amount of patriotism here.”

? “20-year program of no tax … ‘That’s my line in the sand.’ “

Maybe we went after the wrong Dell.