MSN story on DELL:
The top stocks of the current decade are Dell Computer (DELL) (+83,500% from Jan. 1, 1990 through Aug. 27), America Online (AOL) (+44,400%), EMC Corp. (EMC) (+41,528%) and Cisco Systems (CSCO) (+40,651%). It would have been tough to peg this foursome 10 years ago as the ones to beat, but clues were evident for each after two or three years. Consider that in September 1989:
Dell was a scrappy, direct marketer of PCs with a $300 million market capitalization and a stock in free-fall. Inventory concerns ultimately would lead investors to slash the stock price by more than 60% from a split-adjusted December 1988 high of 13 cents to a low around 4 cents in February 1990. (In July 1989, the financial weekly Barron's explained the industry's woes with a story headlined "The Great Boom in PCs May Be Coming to an End.") Dell then went on to advance more than 500% by April 1991, to 30 cents. Skeptics said larger rivals IBM (IBM) and Compaq Computer (CPQ), or a strong retailer like CompUSA (CPU), would drive Dell out of business even as it continued to gain ground over the next few years. The stock was up only 150% from inception to its fifth birthday, but had advanced 1,000% by the time it was 7 years old in 1995. The truly exponential growth was just ahead: By its 10th birthday as a public company in 1998, the stock was up 28,460%; over the past five years, it has gained an average of 151% annually. If you're still kicking yourself for not buying in 1995 or earlier, consider that the stock has continued to offer entry points: It's fallen 50% twice en route to its historic gains, and sank 40% as recently as the Feb. 1 to June 1 period this year. |
