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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Roads End who wrote (29441)	7/17/1998 6:57:00 PM
From: William Hunt	Respond to of 97611

THREAD --- INTERESTING ---Dow Jones Newswires -- July 17, 1998 Chile's Sonda Signs Strategic Alliance With Microsoft SANTIAGO (Dow Jones)--Chile's Sociedad Nacional de Procesamiento y Datos SA, or Sonda, said Friday it entered a strategic alliance with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) to provide the U.S. company's products and related services throughout Spanish-speaking Latin America. Andres Navarro, the president of the Chilean software and systems integrator, said the non-exclusive agreement kicks in immediately for Chile. Next year, he added, the company will start selling to Argentina, thereafter expanding into all the main Latin American markets, except Brazil. "We already have a presence in all of Latin America," Navarro said. However, he added that the agreement with Microsoft Corp. will require further expansion and fresh investments. He wouldn't disclose how much Sonda plans to spend on growth. Navarro said he expects the Chilean firm's sales to total $450 million this year. He projected that 50% of Sonda's sales in 1999 will be based on Microsoft's NT Windows operating system. The platform's share should continue increasing over the following years, he added. Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) of the U.S. owns 40% of Sonda. Earlier in the year, Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) announced that it will buy out Digital. -By Felipe Ossa; (562) 638 7472 BEST WISHES BILL

To: Roads End who wrote (29441)	7/17/1998 10:54:00 PM
From: Pruguy	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 97611

This company is in the process of digesting the largest tech acquisition in history only 9 months after closing on a 3bb tandem acquisition. I think the last comparable event was sperry and burroughs.(unisys)......nearly bankrupted them......so far they are showing very impressive results as the performance in the last 30 days shows(28.5 to 34) correct me if I'm wrong but between HWP IBM GTW DELL CPQ was the best performer in the last month and it has just begun!

To: Roads End who wrote (29441)	7/18/1998 12:16:00 AM
From: brian cranston	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 97611

i agree with you, Riechers. if you take q1, q2, and the estimates for q3, combined... thats 20 billion in revenue for CPQ, and 132 million in earnings... just pathetic. i thought that q1 and q2 would have been sufficient for CPQ to work through its problems, and get back on track. CPQ's operating profits this quarter were 2 cents. if they make 6 cents in q3, that extra 4 cents in earnings will probably be entirely due to their streamlining of dec. where is the improvement in their core pc business? CPQ's gross margins (products only, not services) in q4 '97 were 28%. 18% in q1, and 18% in q2. i had hoped to see some improvement from q1 to q2. mason had said that next quarter their margins should increase a few points, but again that could be attributable to synergies realized from dec. if, as CPQ claims, they are down to 3.5 weeks worldwide channel inventory... that + the benefits of their ODM, CTO, CCP programs + synergies from dec (layoffs, increased service revenues, higher volumes on alpha) + everything else they have going on (e-commerce initiatives, small business initiatives, plans for alta-vista, new kick-ass consumer machines, CPQ direct plus, radio-shack, in store kiosks, cool new affordable gadgets like flat-panel monitors and fingerprint recognition devices, etc, etc, etc...) should, IMO = much more than 6 cents. i think CPQ's board and management are top-notch, and have no doubt that CPQ will be a powerhouse. there are just so many positives about CPQ, i am growing impatient that it should be taking this long for CPQ to get back firing on all cylinders. 9 months ago i was deciding whether to invest in CPQ or DELL or buy both. i put my money on CPQ because i felt then, and feel even more so now, that DELL is nearly fully-valued, and that CPQ has alot more upside potential. well, after 9 months, i'm right where i started with CPQ, whereas dell has returned 200% : exchange2000.com consider this: from their october '97 highs (prior to the october crash), dell has more than doubled, whereas CPQ is still 15% below its high. i for one, am growing impatient with CPQ's slow recovery, and want to start seeing substantial improvements soon. and when those occur, i won't be happy just to see CPQ at 40 or 45. given the current tech rally, and the performance of DELL and GTW, i would expect CPQ to be at least 50% above its october high, putting it at about $60. by the way, anyone hear the news about DELL increasing the authorized # of shares from 1 billion to 3 billion? if DELL does another split and doubles in value from here before CPQ does, i may just go insane. at any rate, call me stubborn, but i am going to add to my CPQ position by adding some jan 2000 40 calls, and i intend to make a killing on them... its time for CPQ to play catch-up to DELL!