1
EXHIBIT 12
DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION
Computation of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
Fiscal Year Ended
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 1, February 2, January 28, January 29, January 30, January 31,
1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993
------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
(dollars in millions)
Income (loss) before income taxes
and extraordinary loss $1,368 $747 $383 $213 ($39) $143
Fixed Charges:
Interest expense and amortization
of debt discount and premium 3 8 17 15 14 11
Interest factor on rentals 12 11 7 7 6 5
------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total Fixed Charges 15 19 24 22 20 16
Income (loss) before income taxes,
extraordinary loss, and fixed charges $1,383 $766 $407 $235 ($19) $159
------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges(a) 93.1 41.0 16.7 10.9 (b) 10.1
============ =========== =========== =========== =========== ===========
(a) Ratios calculated based on underlying data in thousands
(b) Earnings were inadequate to cover combined fixed charges by $19 million