Spread between CPQ and DELL widens as CPQ continues to bump its head on 34 while DELL powers ahead, even in the light of negative press. El
CPQ Longs-MUST READ-WSJ bashes Dell
by: Mr_Long_O (34/M/Portland, OR)
8/31/00 10:28 am
Msg: 180416 of 180416
By GARY MCWILLIAMS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
AUSTIN, Texas -- Wednesday night, Michael S. Dell was gearing up to don Western duds, strap on a
six-shooter and act out a high-tech "High Noon" before 15,000 Dell Computer Corp. employees
gathered at the University of Texas campus in Austin. Mr. Dell and his posse of key managers would
face stand-ins for some of his biggest current and future rivals -- Compaq Computer Corp., Gateway
Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc., and EMC Corp. According to the script, Mr. Dell and his gang would
shoot down the competitors one by one.
In real life, the picture isn't so pretty for Dell. It was the single best-performing stock of the 1990s,
with a 97% average annual price increase. This year, its stock is down 22%. Powered by a
revolutionary system for selling personal computers directly to consumers, it used to grow three or
four times faster than the rest of the industry. For the quarter ended July 28, Dell's unit shipments of
desktop PCs just squeaked past the industry's 12% rise. The quarter's 25% revenue gain was less
than Wall Street's and Dell's projections, the third time in the past five quarters that it has fallen short
of expectations.
All Subject Message |
