Dell and HP Q3 results buoyed by pandemic PC surge

Demand for remote working products and services has fuelled surges in laptop and PC sales, boosting third-quarter profits for HP and Dell. 

Both firms beat analyst expectations for Q3, with optimistic earnings forecasts swiftly following as the coronavirus continues to increase demand for home learning and working. 

HP shares rose as much as 9% in extended trading on Tuesday after the PC manufacturer reported $10.5 billion in revenue from its Personal Systems unit, the segment of its business that deals with laptops and desktop computers.

Sales of notebooks increased 18% due to demand for remote working and the firm more than doubled sales of Google-based Chromebooks, according to chief transformation officer Marie Myers. However, the overall segment was slightly pegged back by a decline in desktop and workstation sales, which are seen as more of an office purchase.

PC and laptop sales also featured heavily in the Q3 results of Dell Technologies. Consumer device sales, such as PCs, were up 14% compared to the same quarter in 2019. Overall, Dell's revenues increased 3% to $23.5 billion, with operating income rising 35% to $1.1 billion. 

"We met unprecedented demand for remote work and learn solutions this quarter while increasing revenue to $23.5 billion," said Jeff Clarke, vice chairman and COO at Dell Technologies.

"At the same time, we accelerated our 'as a service' strategy and hybrid cloud capabilities at the edge - positioning us to win in these growing markets and making it easy for customers to manage data and workloads across all their operations."

Both firms are expecting this trend to continue, particularly as the coronavirus is still forcing employees to work remotely. Even beyond the outbreak, many businesses are looking at hybrid working models with a mix of in-office and home working.