Technology, Profit | featured news

Dell Inc on Tuesday reported a 31 percent drop in profit, hurt by a shrinking consumer business, as investors weighed founder Michael Dell's offer to buy out the world's No.3 maker of personal computers.

The company reported net income of $7 million, or 1 cent a share, on sales of $12.8 billion. It was less profit than analysts had estimated, but the revenue was in line with forecasts.

On Tuesday, Apple is set to report financial results for the second quarter. Analysts are expecting net income of $9.8 billion. But whatever figure Apple reports won't reflect its true profit, because the company hides some of it with an unusual tax maneuver.

The company continued to post strong gains in the computer segment while its rivals are still struggling to recover from the recession’s impact on consumer spending.

Intel's quarterly profit slid 7.8% on lower sales, but the semiconductor giant posted revenue and gross margin above its guidance.