Computers, 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 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.

Dell Inc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, showing it was better able to cut costs and protect prices on its products than analysts, or its own executives, had predicted.