Dell (NASDAQ:DELL): What Investors Need to Know

Shareholders and investors interested in Dell's (NASDAQ:DELL) upcoming earnings report aren't too concerned with the report itself, but primarily with the guidance and comments of the company.

The actual quarter itself could be a decent one, based on the lower costs of parts, which could drive up margins and earnings. That aside, the market will look for whether or not the company has been enjoying success now, or gives guidance regarding the future, of growing sales of higher margin products.

To clarify that, it simply means are they generating more sales, or expect to generate more sales, to businesses.

If they've been able to expand margins in its consumer PC unit, that would be a big added bonus for the company, which they would be awarded with, assuming the company believes its a sustainable development.

Concerning expanding business sales, this goes beyond computers themselves to a wider array of products and services to larger corporations.

While I haven't heard it said, the implication seems to be taking a similar route IBM (NYSE:IBM) did when they were facing a similar circumstance in the past. Consulting and servicing products is among the strategy there, which generate much higher margins and earnings. Investors will be looking for that in results and guidance from Dell's earnings report on Tuesday.

Within that context, some are looking for what Dell may be thinking of in terms of acquisitions to expand in those areas; not necessarily specifics, but whether that's part of their strategy or not.

In the short term, investors should look for whether or not the growing popularity of tablet computers has cut into consumer purchases of PCs, and if so, how deeply.

Dell closed at $13.97, up $0.12, or 0.87 percent.