JRI:
Years and years ago( several), when Dell had only 6000 employees
it was computed that stock buy back was proceeding at such a rate the Dell could own the company within 5 years -like by next year.
Could have made barrels of money for the few remaining shareholders. And shareholders have profited enormously from the buybacks that did occur.(about 800 mil shares)
But the demand for computers was too great, despite Dell having the best computer, a major customer would have to say "well screw Dell, I need 10K, not 5K , and I need portables so I will have to convert to brand X.
So now Dell is getting close to 40000 employees and the demand is still there for computers and related gear and it shows no signs of abating so the sky is the limit, market caps of 100 bil or 200 bil are just milestones, not limits.
This kind of growth requires changes in the use of Michaels
time and in the way of doing business. (I would guess he is now more of a teacher, having to delegate more authority, and seeking out from
experienced IBM (hehe) managers how to deal with the huge sized contracts involved.)
New facilities has been no real problem, using bond funds and leases and little company capital.
Getting personnel a continual problem (hello, nashville) but
not a stopper, a little more cost than hoped for tho.
Summary:
I think much work has now been done to stabilize the company in preparation for the next growth phase and Michael is using some of his own money along with other company investments . Firming up the supply contracts(almost $30 bil worth so far), activating new factories in Nashville and Brazil. And I believe Ted Waitt, Mike Capellas, and Michael, and others are really pissed off at Intel. The pressure will be applied and I count particularily for MSD to have backup plan (Athlon?) ready in case it happens again.
Michael's vision still at work, we will hear more at the July shareholders meeting.
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