Computer maker Dell (DELL) posted a 5% decline in fiscal third quarter profit, suffering from a slump in computer sales around the world.

For its third quarter, Round Rock, Texas-based Dell posted net income of $727 million, compared to $766 million in the year-earlier third quarter. The computer maker bought back shares during the last year, which resulted in its earnings per share climbing 9% to 37 cents a share. Analysts, according to Thomson First Call had expected Dell to weigh in with earnings of 31 cents a share.

Sales fell 3% to $15 billion as the company suffered from a slowdown in corporate spending. Analysts had expected Dell to post revenue of $16.3 billion. The company did note that consumer PC sales improved by 10%.

In a press release, Dell Chief Executive Michael Dell characterized the quarter as having a “challenging demand environment.” The company said global industry demand slowed through October and that it believes demand will continue to be challenging.

Heading into Dell’s quarterly report, some analysts predicted the company could miss its forecasts because of lackluster sales of its computers. While Dell competitor Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) preannounced better-than-expected results earlier in the week, Dell has been suffering from a market-share slump.

According to the Wall Street Journal, market research firm Gartner said Dell is losing global market share and said this week that PC demand is falling more than expected. Industrywide desktop PC revenue is expected to fall as much as 22% and notebook revenue is targeted to be flat.