Enterprise PC growth indicates that it’s not all over for the humble desktop

Dell Technologies reported surprisingly good second-quarter results on the back of improved PC unit revenues. The news signals that the demand for desktop and laptop computing remains strong.

The technology company posted second-quarter earnings of $4.5 billion on revenues of $23.4 billion, up 2% from a year ago. Dell Technologies' PC unit posted revenues of $11.7 billion, up 6% from a year ago.

"This quarter's results are strong thanks to our leading and diverse portfolio and consistent execution. Operating income, gross margin and deferred revenue are up double digits, our PC business produced record results, and we saw record cash flow," said Tom Sweet, chief financial officer at Dell Technologies. "Couple this with our focus on long-term value creation, growing faster than competitors and the industry, growing operating income and EPS faster than revenue, and generating strong cash flow over time. We are well-positioned for the future."

Jeff Clarke, vice chairman at Dell, said the company was in "the early stages of a technology-led investment cycle". 

"IT spending remains healthy and our business drivers remain strong," he added. "We are innovating and integrating across the Dell Technologies portfolio, from the edge to the core to the cloud, with a diverse business designed to succeed in any macro environment."

However, its Infrastructure Solutions Group revenue for the second quarter was $8.6 billion, a 7% decrease year-over-year. Storage revenue was flat at $4.2 billion, while servers and networking decreased 12% to $4.4 billion.

VMware revenue was $2.5 billion for the second quarter, up 12% driven by broad-based strength across a diverse product portfolio. Operating income for the second quarter was $762 million, or 30.9% of VMware revenue.