Together, Thursday's developments added to Dell's reputation as a company that can prosper in the midst of a long slump in technology spending.
Research firm International Data Corp. estimated that Dell shipped 5.2 million PCs in the third quarter, an increase of 23 percent over the same period last year, to top Hewlett-Packard's 5 million shipments.
Dell had held the top spot for five straight quarters until being dethroned earlier this year when HP acquired Compaq.
"It's a credit to our team, and we're proud of the rate at which we're winning new customers and retaining and expanding our business with existing ones," said Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive.
Dell's strong showing helped a struggling industry dig out from the tech collapse of the past two years. IDC said the PC industry's total third-quarter shipments rose nearly 4 percent, to 32.6 million, after five consecutive quarters of decline.
Dell earned $958 million and revenues rose 6 percent, to $16.5 billion, in the six months that ended Aug. 31.
The outlook for Dell contrasts with news this week from computer-chip makers Intel and Motorola. Their shares plunged after Intel reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings and Motorola scaled back sales and earnings forecasts.
Loren Loverde, who directs IDC's PC-sales research, said Dell used aggressive marketing to gain market share despite the reluctance of consumers and businesses to spend money.
"Dell has consistently outperformed the market for at least the last year, even through the slowdown," Loverde said.
IDC, which said it surveyed vendors and distributors in 55 countries, said Dell had 16 percent of worldwide PC sales in the third quarter and HP had a 15.5 percent share.
Shebly Seyrafi, an analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons, said Dell's strength lies in its direct-sales model, which bypasses stores.
"They have a cost advantage, so they can be more price-aggressive or they can give customers more things for the same price," Seyrafi said.
Dell surged while HP was busy winning narrow approval from shareholders to buy Compaq. Loverde, the IDC analyst, said customers might have been affected by the acquisition's uncertain fate.
Not content with its PC position, Dell, based near Austin, is taking direct aim at HP's stronghold in the printer market. It has struck a partnership with Lexmark to produce printers, and analysts say Dell could make similar deals with other manufacturers.
Some analysts have suggested that Dell's long-term growth prospects are limited because about 80 percent of its revenue comes from sale of desktop and notebook computers, where the market is more saturated than for other technology products.
Dell is believed to be considering several other markets that could hold out the promise of more robust growth, including servers, services, data-storage systems and handheld devices.
Dell could become a force in the server market if servers become commodities largely differentiated by price, said Seyrafi, the A.G. Edwards analyst. But, he said, Dell would face potent competition in high-end servers from IBM, Sun and others.
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