Yet more bad news at Dell. The computer maker has already said second-quarter earnings would fall short of expectations, but they will now be delayed because of “questions raised” by an informal Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the company’s books.
No indication has been given of the probe’s impact, but fears that Dell has misstated prior financial reports come at a testing time. Dell’s earnings have been dismal, and today’s threat by China’s Lenovo to slash prices will increase pressure yet further.
Bloggers have already torn into the company for poor service - and that was before pictures of an exploding laptop forced the recall of more than 4 million faulty batteries. Large investors have dumped the stock this year. A share buy-back delayed by the SEC probe will hardly mollify those left.