Dell's online sales have reached $30 million per day, contributing 40 per cent of the company's quarterly revenue of $6.1 billion, up 42 per cent on the same period last year. The company reported net income of $507 million, up 58 per cent. In the States, Dell takes the number one spot in the US for sales of PC systems for the quarter, number one for sales to US businesses -- including small businesses, and the number two spot for server systems. In Europe, revenue increased by 24 per cent, with shipments growing twice as fast as the rest of the industry. As well as knocking Compaq off the top spot in the UK, the company has increased revenue in France by 55 per cent. "We are now the largest direct company within the worldwide home and small-business market, and are significantly more profitable in that space than our nearest direct competitor," said Michael Dell. "Our US consumer shipments grew more than 100 percent in the quarter, and about one-half of those sales were generated online, through www.dell.com." US shipments increased 55 percent, also doubling analysts predictions for the company based on industry growth. Dell said that the company was setting the standard in the computer industry. He also said that the Internet would would increase in importance in direct sales. A chunk of the company's $930 million of cash from the quarter's operations was used to buy back 17 million shares of the company's common stock. Dell closed the period with six days of inventory. ®