Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)

Inventory Turnover

The inventory turnover ratio shows an overall declining trend from a high of 19.27 to lows near 10.16 across the periods observed. Starting from May 2020, the ratio moderately decreases with some fluctuations, hitting the lowest points in late 2024 and early 2025. There is a brief rebound observed in early 2021 and early 2023, but the general tendency is downward, indicating a slower inventory movement over time.

Receivables Turnover

Receivables turnover reveals fluctuations between approximately 6.75 and 10.48. The ratio experiences a gradual increase from mid-2020, peaking around mid-2023. Subsequent quarters show a decline, especially toward late 2024 and early 2025, indicating variability in how efficiently the company collects receivables, with periods of higher efficiency followed by a decline.

Payables Turnover

Payables turnover maintains a narrower range between roughly 2.91 and 4.28, displaying moderate volatility. It trends upward from under 3.5 toward over 4.2 in early 2023, then declines again towards the end of the period. This suggests a variable pace in paying suppliers, with some quarters indicating quicker payments and others a slower payment schedule.

Average Inventory Processing Period

The average inventory processing period increases from around 19 days to peaks exceeding 33 days toward late 2024 and early 2025. Notably, the period lengthens gradually through 2021 and 2022, indicating that inventory remains on hand longer before sale. The increase in processing days aligns inversely with the decline in inventory turnover, suggesting growing inefficiency in inventory management.

Average Receivable Collection Period

This metric fluctuates between 35 and 54 days, with periods of increase and decrease. The highest days outstanding occur near early 2025, indicating slower collection during those times. Conversely, some quarters in 2023 show shorter collection periods. Overall, the pattern reflects inconsistent receivables management, with periodic delays in cash inflow.

Operating Cycle

The operating cycle, a combination of inventory and receivables periods, shows considerable variation between about 54 and 87 days. It tends to lengthen notably toward late 2024 and early 2025, mirroring the trends in inventory and receivables turnover. The longer cycle highlights increased capital tied up in operations during those times.

Average Payables Payment Period

This period ranges broadly from about 85 days to over 130 days, with a peak around late 2020 and early 2021. Over subsequent quarters, it declines temporarily before rising again toward the latter part of the dataset. The increase in days payable suggests the company extends payment terms to suppliers at times, potentially as a means of managing cash flow.

Cash Conversion Cycle

The cash conversion cycle remains negative throughout the covered periods, fluctuating between approximately -18 and -54 days. This indicates that the company collects cash from customers faster than it pays its suppliers, a positive liquidity indicator. Although the cycle shortens slightly around early 2023 and again in 2024, it tends to trend back toward longer negative periods, reflecting a consistent strategy of effectively managing working capital.

The analysis of the financial data reveals several notable trends and patterns over the periods under review. Cost of net revenue exhibited significant fluctuations, showing an overall increasing trajectory with intermittent declines. Initially, cost figures remained relatively stable around the mid-teens (in thousands of millions of US dollars) but surged sharply in the last recorded period, reaching a peak that surpasses previous highs.

Inventories displayed a general upward movement with periods of consolidation and minor retracement. Starting from a lower base, inventory levels increased markedly across the timeline, particularly from early 2021 onwards, suggesting accumulation of stock or preparation for sales growth. However, some periods showed inventory reductions, indicating periods of inventory optimization or improved turnover.

The inventory turnover ratio, where available, showed a declining trend from very high values in earlier periods to lower levels in more recent quarters. Early ratios indicate highly efficient inventory management, with turnover consistently above 15 and peaking near 20. However, there is a clear downtrend, with turnover falling to approximately 10-11 in the latest available periods. This decline may reflect slower inventory movement or increased stock levels relative to cost of revenue, potentially impacting liquidity or indicating shifts in demand or supply chain dynamics.

Cost of Net Revenue

Overall increasing trend with volatility, hitting a notable peak in the final recorded quarter. This suggests fluctuations in production or procurement costs, changes in sales volume, or pricing strategies.

Inventories

General upward trend with inventory accumulation, especially pronounced since early 2021. This might indicate strategic stockpiling, anticipation of higher demand, or slower inventory clearance.

Inventory Turnover

Decreasing trend from exceptionally high turnover ratios toward more moderate values in recent periods, suggesting a potential decrease in sales velocity relative to inventory or changes in inventory management efficiency.

In summary, the data points to rising costs and inventory levels, coupled with a reduction in turnover efficiency. These dynamics warrant further investigation into underlying operational factors such as supply chain management, sales performance, and market conditions to understand their implications on overall business performance and liquidity.

The net revenue exhibited fluctuations over the observed periods, with notable peaks and troughs. Starting at approximately $21.9 billion, the revenue experienced increases and declines, reaching a high near $29.8 billion towards the end of the timeline. This pattern indicates variability in sales performance or market conditions, with a general upward momentum in the later quarters.

Accounts receivable, net of allowance, also displayed variability corresponding with the revenue pattern but with less pronounced peaks. Starting from around $10.5 billion, the receivables showed periods of growth and reduction, peaking notably above $15 billion near the final quarter. This suggests variations in credit sales and collection efficiency or changes in credit policy over time.

The receivables turnover ratio, a measure of how efficiently the company collects its receivables, was only available from the period starting January 31, 2020. Initially, the turnover ratio was about 7.38, showing an overall increase with fluctuations throughout the subsequent quarters. It reached its highest value of approximately 10.48, indicating improved efficiency in receivables collection around mid-2023. However, the ratio showed some volatility, finishing at a lower level, approximately 6.75, by the last recorded period.

Net Revenue Trends

The revenue exhibited cyclical fluctuations but trended upward towards the end of the reporting periods.

Accounts Receivable Movements

Receivables followed a similar fluctuating trend, with a significant increase in the final quarter, potentially reflecting extended credit terms or slower collections.

Receivables Turnover Ratio Analysis

Receivables turnover ratio showed overall improvement in collections efficiency peaking mid-period but experienced decline towards the end, signaling potential challenges in cash collection or changes in credit strategy.

The financial data reveals several notable patterns and trends over the examined periods.

Cost of Net Revenue

The cost of net revenue exhibits fluctuations across the quarters, with an overall upward trend from the initial value of approximately 15,111 million USD to a peak near 24,329 million USD. Notably, spikes occur in late 2024, indicating increased expenses associated with revenue generation. However, these costs experience periodic declines, suggesting variability potentially linked to operational factors or market conditions.

Accounts Payable

Accounts payable also display an increasing trajectory over time, rising from around 18,097 million USD to over 27,463 million USD by mid-2025. This increase aligns with the rise in cost of net revenue, implying that the company is engaging more with suppliers or extending credit terms. Periods of plateau or slight decline are observed but are generally followed by growth, indicating a dynamic but upward trend in outstanding payables.

Payables Turnover Ratio

The payables turnover ratio varies between 2.80 and 4.28 throughout the periods. Earlier quarters show a declining trend, hitting lows near 2.80, suggesting slower payment rates. Subsequently, the ratio increases and peaks around 4.28, indicative of faster payment cycles. In the latest quarters, the turnover rate decreases once again but remains higher than the initial values, reflecting moderate payment speed adjustments over time.

Overall, the data point towards increasing operational scale, as evidenced by rising costs and payables, alongside variability in payment terms reflected in the payables turnover ratio. The interplay of these trends suggests evolving management of supplier relations and operational expenses, with potential impacts on liquidity and working capital management.

The analysis of the financial data over the indicated periods reveals several notable trends and insights regarding the company's liquidity and revenue generation efficiency.

Working Capital

The working capital figures are consistently negative throughout the entire period, indicating that current liabilities exceed current assets. Initially, the negative working capital increased in magnitude, moving from -9,824 million USD in May 2019 to a peak negative value around -15,588 million USD in January 2020. Subsequently, there is fluctuation in the negative working capital values, with some periods showing a slight improvement (less negative) such as May 2020 (-9,080 million USD) and February 2023 (-9,303 million USD). However, more recently, from mid-2023 onwards, the negative working capital deepened again, reaching approximately -14,490 million USD in August 2024 before improving somewhat to -7,497 million USD in May 2025, followed by a slight worsening to -9,350 million USD in August 2025. Overall, while there are periods of improvement, the trend suggests ongoing challenges in maintaining positive working capital.

Net Revenue

Net revenue shows variability but with a generally positive trend over the time horizon. Starting at 21,908 million USD in May 2019, revenue experiences several fluctuations, with peaks around January 2022 (27,992 million USD) and August 2025 (29,776 million USD), indicating periods of strong sales performance. Some dips are evident, for example in mid-2023 (around 20,922 million USD in May 2023). Despite these fluctuations, the overall trajectory of net revenue demonstrates growth, especially notable in the later periods where revenue exceeds levels seen in earlier years by a considerable margin.

Working Capital Turnover

Data for working capital turnover ratio is not available for any of the periods, preventing direct analysis of this specific operational efficiency metric.

Summary of Financial Health Indicators

The persistent negative working capital combined with increasing net revenue suggests that the company might be efficiently utilizing its short-term liabilities to finance operations or may have significant current obligations relative to assets. The improvement in net revenue over time is positive; however, the ongoing negative working capital positions could imply liquidity constraints or a business model reliant on current liabilities. The absence of working capital turnover ratio data limits the ability to assess how well working capital is being managed relative to sales. Overall, the trends point to growing revenue strength amid continued challenges in liquidity as reflected by working capital levels.

The inventory turnover ratio exhibits notable fluctuations over the observed periods. Initially, from mid-2019 to early 2020, the ratio shows relatively high values around the 17 to 19 range, indicating efficient inventory management and rapid inventory movement. However, starting around late 2020 and into 2021, a declining trend emerges, with the ratio decreasing steadily from approximately 17.5 to a low of around 10.16 by early 2025. This decline suggests a slowdown in the frequency at which inventory is sold and replaced, pointing to potential challenges in inventory utilization or demand fluctuations.

Correspondingly, the average inventory processing period, measured in days, follows an inverse pattern relative to the turnover ratio. Initially stable around 19 to 21 days, the processing period gradually increases, peaking at approximately 36 days by early 2025. This increase in the number of days reflects inventory staying longer within the company before being sold, correlating with the lower inventory turnover ratios observed during the same timeframe.

Inventory turnover ratio trends

Shows a high and relatively stable performance in 2019 through early 2020, followed by a decline beginning in mid-2021, reaching its lowest levels in early 2025.

Average inventory processing period trends

Remains mostly steady initially, then escalates from about 20 days to over 30 days toward early 2025, indicating slower inventory movement.

Relationship between the two metrics

An inverse relationship is evident: as inventory turnover decreases, the average processing period increases, highlighting less efficient inventory management or changes in operational conditions.

Implications

The extended inventory processing periods combined with decreasing turnover ratios could imply accumulation of stock or reduced sales velocity, potentially affecting cash flow and operational efficiency. This pattern suggests a need for closer examination of inventory controls and sales trends to identify underlying causes and remedial actions.

The receivables turnover ratio and the average receivable collection period depict the efficiency and effectiveness of the company's credit and collection policies across the analyzed quarters.

Receivables Turnover Ratio

The receivables turnover ratio exhibits fluctuations with an overall upward trend from the initial reported period. Beginning around 7.38, the ratio generally increased, peaking at 10.48 in early 2024, indicating an improvement in the company's ability to collect its receivables more frequently within a year. However, after reaching this peak, the ratio showed some variability, with a notable decline towards 6.75 in the most recent period. This suggests a recent decrease in collection efficiency or potential changes in credit policy or customer payment behavior.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The average receivable collection period inversely mirrors the turnover ratio. Starting at 49 days, the days outstanding reduced over time, reaching a low of 35 days in early 2024, consistent with the higher turnover rates during that timeframe. This reduction implies faster collection of receivables, enhancing cash flow management. Nonetheless, the most recent data reveal an increase to 54 days, indicating a slower collection process or extended credit terms, which corresponds with the decline in receivables turnover observed in the latest quarter.

Overall, the data reflect periods of improving efficiencies in accounts receivable management, with the company achieving quicker collections and higher turnover ratios through much of the timeline. However, the latest periods signal a reversal in this trend, warranting further investigation into underlying causes such as customer payment delays, changes in credit policies, or market conditions affecting receivables.

The analysis of the financial data reveals several noticeable trends in the operating efficiency measures over the observed periods.

Average Inventory Processing Period

The average inventory processing period shows considerable variation across the quarters. Starting from a range around 19 to 21 days early in the dataset, it increased notably reaching a peak of 33 to 36 days in the later quarters (2024-2025). This upward trend suggests a lengthening time to turn over inventory, indicating potential inefficiencies or changes in inventory management strategies toward the end of the timeframe.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The average receivable collection period exhibits fluctuations without a clear upward or downward long-term trend. Periods oscillate between the mid-30s to low 50s days, with occasional dips such as 35 days in mid-2023 and spikes such as 54 days in early 2024. Notably, in the last few periods, there is a tendency towards higher values, which could imply slower collection on receivables impacting cash flow.

Operating Cycle

The operating cycle, derived from the sum of inventory processing and receivable collection periods, similarly varies over time. After an initial moderate range (approximately 65 to 70 days), it spikes to around 76 days in late 2024 and further escalates to 87 days in early 2025. This indicates a lengthening overall operating cycle, reflecting longer durations in converting inventory into cash, which may affect working capital management.

Overall, the data points towards increasing operational delays in inventory turnover and receivables collection in the more recent periods, resulting in extended operating cycles. These trends suggest a potential need for review and optimization of working capital and operational processes to enhance efficiency and liquidity management.

Payables Turnover

The payables turnover ratio exhibits fluctuations over the observed periods, commencing at 3.15 and reaching peaks of 4.28 and 4.22 in early 2023, indicating a period of quicker payments to suppliers. Following this peak, the ratio declines gradually, falling to values near 2.91 by mid-2025, which suggests a slower rate of payable turnover toward the end of the timeframe.

Average Payables Payment Period

The average days payable outstanding inversely mirror the payables turnover ratio trends. Initially, the payment period is relatively high at 116 days, then declines steadily to a low of 85–86 days by early 2023, indicating accelerated payments to creditors. After this trough, the payment period extends again, reaching values around 123–125 days by mid-2025, signifying a lengthening of the time taken to settle payables.

Overall Trends and Insights

The data suggest an overall cyclical pattern in the management of payable accounts. Early in the series, payables are settled more slowly, which then shifts to a strategy of faster payment around early 2023. Subsequently, there appears to be a reversal toward longer payment cycles. This pattern could reflect changes in operating cash flow management, supplier negotiations, or shifts in working capital strategy. The inverse relationship between the ratio and the payment period aligns with typical financial behavior, where a higher turnover corresponds to fewer days payable outstanding, and vice versa.

Average Inventory Processing Period

The inventory processing period shows a general increasing trend over the observed timeframe, starting around 19 days and rising to values in the low 30s towards the latter dates. Notably, after an initial increase to 27–28 days around early 2022, there was a brief decline to approximately 18–20 days in 2023, followed by a steady increase back into the 30s by 2025. This indicates a lengthening time to process inventory in recent quarters, which could suggest slower inventory turnover or logistical challenges.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The receivable collection period fluctuates notably without a clear upward or downward long-term trend, oscillating mostly between the high 30s and low 50s in days. There are occasional dips below 40 days, for example between mid-2022 and early 2023, and spikes such as the 54 days in early 2025. The variability in collection times may reflect changing credit policies, customer payment behaviors, or seasonality effects.

Average Payables Payment Period

The payables payment period exhibits a generally decreasing trend from initial values above 110 days toward a low near 85–86 days in early 2023, indicating a period of faster payments to suppliers. However, from 2023 onwards, the payment period increases again, reaching back to over 120 days by 2025. This suggests a strategic shift in managing payables, possibly balancing supplier relationships and cash flow optimization.

Cash Conversion Cycle

The cash conversion cycle remains negative throughout all observed periods, which is favorable as it indicates the company collects cash from sales before paying its suppliers. The negative cycle generally hovers between approximately -50 to -30 days, with a notable improvement (less negative) around early 2023. Afterward, it fluctuates but stays negative, suggesting consistent efficiency in working capital management despite some volatility.