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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ed Forrest who wrote (142452)	9/20/1999 11:06:00 PM
From: Dorine Essey	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

Hi Ed, Don't see where this was posted before. Dell and Sun Microsystems Tie for Top Spot in Technology Business Research, Inc. 2Q99 CBQ Ranking Operational Improvements and Strong E-Services Vision Propel HP to #4 Spot HAMPTON, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 1999-- Dell Computer (Nasdaq: DELL) and Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW) tied this quarter for the #1 spot in TBR's tbri.com) Computer Business Quarterly (CBQ) ranking. Last quarter, Dell held the top spot by a narrow margin. Both Dell and Sun are well-positioned for future growth and profitability. Dell will drive growth by expanding into new geographies, increasing penetration of the consumer and SMB markets, and developing new initiatives in IT management software and services. The Sun/Netscape Alliance was formed at the right time to capitalize on the Internet economy. In addition, Sun is creating a comprehensive strategy surrounding its complete product offering -- from systems to services to software. As a result, industry and competitors are beginning to see Sun as more than just a UNIX systems vendor. CBQ Benchmark Index for Second Quarter 1999 2Q99 Rank 1Q99 Rank 1Q99 2Q99 #1 Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) #1 6.72 6.64 #1 Sun (Nasdaq: SUNW) #2 6.69 6.64 #3 Compaq (NYSE: CPQ) #3 6.36 6.25 #4 Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HWP) #5 5.72 5.72 #5 Unisys (NYSE: UIS) #10 4.64 5.67 #6 IBM (NYSE: IBM) #4 5.78 5.56 #7 Gateway (NYSE: GTW) #6 5.64 5.37 #7 Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) #7 5.31 5.37 #9 SGI (NYSE: SGI) #12 4.58 5.27 #10 Data General (NYSE: DGN) #8 5.11 4.99 #11 Micron (Nasdaq: MUEI) #9 4.92 4.78 #12 Toshiba America #11 4.62 4.75 #13 Acer Group #13 4.41 4.64 #14 Packard Bell NEC #14 4.37 3.95 Source: TBR Note: NCR (ranked 15th in 1Q99) is not included in this quarter's ranking as the company has shifted its strategic focus from products to solutions. "Vendors who can foresee and react to changes in market conditions clearly come out on top in TBR's rankings," said Lindy Lesperance, TBR's Manager of Computer Business Quarterly. "Dell and Sun have the foresight to recognize shifts in their key markets, and they successfully execute strategies to diversify revenue streams away from areas of slow growth and intense pricing competition. Their ability to remain nimble in their respective markets, coupled with operational excellence, keeps Sun and Dell at the top of our ranking." Compaq (NYSE: CPQ) maintained the #3 position, despite a sequential drop in score, as a result of weakness in its business model. However, Compaq's new CEO, Michael Capellas, is taking decisive steps, including significant headcount reductions, to improve the company's operational efficiency. HP (NYSE: HWP) moved up to the #4 position this quarter, from #5 last quarter, as the company reigns in costs to enable profitable growth. HP's financial picture will steadily improve with the spin-off of the measurement business. In addition, its corporate e-services strategy could further stimulate top-line growth. Unisys (NYSE: UIS) showed the most improvement this quarter, moving up from the #10 position last quarter to the #5 position, as a result of a significantly improved product strategy score and continued improvement in the company's operations and capital structure. Unisys is a very focused company as it drives top- and bottom-line growth, expands and grows its services offerings, and continues strong shipments of ClearPath servers. IBM (NYSE: IBM) dropped to the #6 position this quarter, from #4 last quarter, due to pressure on its product performance and price/performance scores due to strong product introductions from its competitors. However, IBM reported outstanding revenue and earnings growth for the second consecutive quarter with continued strength from the services and software businesses, as well as strong growth in its PC business, particularly for portables and servers. Gateway (NYSE: GTW) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) tied for the #7 spot this quarter. As hardware margins decline in the consumer desktop space, Gateway's strategy is to diversify its revenue to decrease dependence on consumer desktop sales, through increased sales to small and medium businesses as well as ramping up non-PC revenue. Apple continues to prove its viability with its seventh consecutive profitable quarter and its second consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth. However, the company continues to lack an ISP/portal strategy and will struggle to penetrate the SMB market due to a lack of interoperability with the predominant Wintel platform. About TBR: TBR's highly quantitative, proprietary benchmarking methodology ranks the leading global computer