Apple (NASDAQ:AAP), Dell (NASDAQ:DEL) PC Sales Driven by Emerging Markets

Apple and Dell ready to rock on improving PC market

The personal computer market is mounting a strong comeback this year. While high unemployment has harmed consumer spending in North America, demand for PCs in emerging markets is growing at a rapid rate. In India for example, desktop PCs reported 14 percent increase year-on-year, while the sales of notebook computers grew at 49 percent in the fourth quarter. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the Personal Computers Industry and provides research reports on Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAP) and Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ:DEL). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

www.bedfordreport.com/2011-02-AAPL

www.bedfordreport.com/2011-02-DELL

Dell is trying to expand beyond personal computers to products with higher profit margins, like services, data storage, servers and mobile devices. Last week shares of Dell skyrocketed the personal computer maker more than doubled its fourth-quarter earnings. Profits for the quarter came in at $927 million, or 48 cents a share, up from $334 million, or 17 cents, in the year-ago quarter. The company said revenue for the quarter climbed 5 percent to nearly $15.7 billion from $14.9 billion.

The Bedford Report releases regular market updates on the Personal Computers Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at www.bedfordreport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous analyst reports and industry newsletters.

Apple leads the mobile PC market at the moment with 10.2 million units shipped, giving it a 17.2% market share. The company is also gaining market share in Mac unit sales. In the company's fourth quarter Apple sold more than 4 million Macs.

Shares of Apple have rebounded nicely after last month's announcement that the company's legendary CEO Steve Jobs will be taking another medical leave of absence. For the third time in seven year Jobs, a cancer survivor, has left the company in the hands of Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook. Analysts argue that provided Jobs does return, Apple's stock shouldn't be hurt too badly from the news.

Outright retirement, however, could be a different story. Eleven years ago when Bill Gates -- who carries the similar "cult like" status as Jobs -- stepped down as Microsoft's CEO, shares plunged close to fifty percent.

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Ford's (NYSE:F) 2011 Strategy Could Deliver Solid Results

Even though Ford Motor (NYSE:F) cooled off in its latest quarter, heading into 2011 they have a number of pieces in place to generate significant growth, including 20 new vehicles or upgrades to be released during the year.

Like with most companies, emerging markets is the growth engine for them, and that's true of Ford as well, as they continue to grow in China, India, Turkey and Brazil.

India was especially strong for them last year, as measured by percentages, as they grew 184 percent, selling 83,887 vehicles. While China grew at a more modest pace of 40 percent for Ford, it generated 582,467 unit sales in 2010.

Low interest rates in America should also help them increase share by a small percentage, although U.S. competitors obviously have the same advantage.

Economic conditions in Europe are a question mark for all automakers in the region, as the lack of transparency concerning the ongoing sovereign debt crisis makes it difficult to project what sales will be when you don't know when the next announcement a country needs to be bailed out will come.

Overall though, Ford looks like it'll have a good year, led by sales in emerging markets.

Ford was trading at $16.08, down $0.02, or 0.16 percent, as of 2:46 PM EST.

Siemens (NYSE:SI) Growing in Emerging Markets, Maintaining in U.S., Europe

Siemens (NYSE:SI) is maintaining a healthy balance between the old economy maintaining of business, and growth in emerging markets.

To give an idea of the balance, 75 percent of overall sales still came from Europe and the U.S., while approximately 35 percent of new orders in the quarter ending December came from emerging markets.

India was especially strong, generating 160 percent in new orders for Siemens.

The good news for Siemens is if emerging markets falter at any time, they're still positioned strongly in the old economies to hold strong until they rebound.

With growth in one and relative security in the other, they're positioned to go forward strongly.

Siemens was trading at $124.13, down $0.64, or 0.51 percent, as of 12:14 PM EST.