Dell Q2 Earnings Preview: Dealing With The Downturn? (DELL)

Dell recently showed us that it’s finally starting to figure out design — its new line of PCs looks actually Mac-like. But the new machines won’t figure in to its Q2 earnings, which we’ll see this afternoon after the bell. What we are looking for: Clues from CEO Michael Dell about his consumer and enterprise prospects for this fall, and potentially, the rest of the year.

We’ll cover Dell’s (DELL) earnings LIVE today, including live analysis of its results at 4 p.m. ET and live coverage of the earnings call at 5 p.m. Join us; refresh this page or our homepage later for a link to our live coverage.

We don’t expect Dell to give specific guidance for Q3 or the full year — it didn’t last quarter — but three months ago, the company did say it was seeing “conservatism in IT spending.” So we’ll especially be listening for any color on how the enterprise market is shaping up, or any broader commentary on how the macro downturn is affecting Dell.

Also, any actual plans for Dell to re-enter the MP3 player market? The mobile/smartphone market? And, just asking, how long will Michael Dell stay on as CEO? While shares are up 41% since their five-plus-year low in April, they’re still down 17% from their two-year high, hit last October — and barely up 6% since Dell took the seat back on Jan. 31, 2007.