Dell's quarterly profit fell 28 per cent and set a revenue forecast that left analysts asking whether the company had lost the growth momentum of past years.
Net income for Dell's fiscal third quarter ended October 28th fell to $606 million from $846 million last year.
Analysts questioned whether the company could regain the pace of past periods when revenue climbed 16 per cent to 18 per cent as Dell sold low-cost computers directly to consumers, bypassing retailers.
As the focus on inexpensive computers failed to spur growth rates, the company has recently added high-end computers to boost profit.
Shares dropped slightly after Chief Executive Kevin Rollins said 9 per cent to 11 per cent revenue growth, the fourth quarter target, was "a very healthy growth rate for a company our size", but he declined to say whether the range was a long-term forecast.
Dell, whose direct-delivery model has helped it grow faster than the overall PC market for years, has had falling revenue growth for six straight quarters as it aggressively cut prices and faced tougher competition from rivals including Hewlett-Packard and Apple.
Its shares have tumbled 31 per cent this year on concern over revenue growth.
Dell sold 9.2 million computers in the quarter. High-end services revenue rose 36 per cent, storage revenue rose 35 per cent and revenue from servers rose 16 per cent.