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

To: Voltaire who wrote (82731)	11/29/1998 1:19:00 PM
From: arthur pritchard	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Hey Voltaire: YOU OUTDID EVEN YOURSELF and I had to come out of hiding to congratulate you. Incredible points!!

To: Voltaire who wrote (82731)	11/29/1998 1:44:00 PM
From: Geoff Nunn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

If nothing else take the Three Hundred or so million shares they own and write a COVERED CALL for one month, lets say for $5. That is only $1.5 billion. Get the point! Sorry but I don't. First of all, Dell doesn't "own" 300 million shares, or any shares for that matter. Dell owns assets, and the shares outstanding are a claim on these (net) assets. Outstanding shares are if anything a liability to the company. As for selling call options on Dell stock, why on earth would Dell do that? That would essentially be placing a bet that Dell shares aren't going to appreciate. If Dell wants to pick up extra cash in the options market, it would make more sense for it to sell puts. This of course is what the company has been doing in recent years -- that along with buying calls on Dell shares.

To: Voltaire who wrote (82731)	11/29/1998 1:54:00 PM
From: stock bull	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Voltaire, re:<<Anyone want to bet me they won't beat the number by 2 cents next quarter?>> Why? Given that Dell has another good quarter, and they understand the impact of not meeting the whisper number, and they know how to come-up with the extra few pennies in order to meet the whisper number, why do you think Dell "won't beat the number by 2 cents next quarter"? What's Dell's reason for not wanting the stock's price to appreciate? Doesn't make sense to me. Stock Bull

To: Voltaire who wrote (82731)	11/29/1998 2:14:00 PM
From: Captain Jack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Voltaire--- Billy Gates runs his own price in many ways. He is the king of surprises as he has the analysts under estimate EPS and whisper numbers... The qtr was great,,, the analysts were looking for a miracle... like saying "walking on water is ok Mike.. but can you rise from the dead."

To: Voltaire who wrote (82731)	11/29/1998 6:15:00 PM
From: FR1	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 176387

MICHAEL DELL. He blew it! I don't blame you for being mad. I am too. However, if we want to play the other side of the coin it goes like this: 1) Wall street is constantly demanding outrageous performance. 2) If you beat the street and whisper this time they will raise the bar to absurd levels next time. 3) How do you stop the insanity? 4) Take one quarter out and just barely meet the estimate. 5) They will sell you off at first, then buy you back, and, most important, not be so insane for the next few estimates. So I think there are two ways to look at it. Just a dumb move by Mike and a planned move to throw cold water on the crazy estimators. Either way we will by back to good growth after a while. The MMs know you can't ignore a good business like DELL.

To: Voltaire who wrote (82731)	11/30/1998 8:31:00 AM
From: Ex-INTCfan	Respond to of 176387

Voltaire, I agree with you it was Michael's fault. However, we must consider that it was intentional. The employees receive much of their compensation in the form of stock options. As such, they do better if they can get in at a good price. Microsoft has been playing this game for a long time. By not blowing away the whisper number this time more of the control goes back to Michael. I believe this may have been the actual intent, not any price manipulation. Just a theory.

To: Voltaire who wrote (82731)	11/30/1998 4:26:00 PM
From: Chuzzlewit	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 176387

I've read a lot of posts on this thread suggesting that Dell needs to do something to get its share price moving, but Voltaire, yours is one of the strangest posts I've ever seen! Dell is an unsurpassed earner. Show me another company with the kind of financial efficiency that Dell sports! How many companies are capable of growing sales by 50% plus per year on a regular basis and fund it all through earnings? MSD's primary job is to maximize shareholder wealth through the prudent management of the resources placed under his control by those of us who are shareholders. That means he needs to spend his time managing the business, NOT trying to attract momentum investors. If you want to play in that sandlot there are plenty of internet stocks around without a whisper of earnings. Selling calls is one of the silliest suggestions I've seen on how to boost earnings. First, it can't boost earnings because the premium never appears on the income statement! Second, it would lead to dilution if the stock price rose (can you say a decrease in eps??) because Dell would be required to sell additional shares. Or as the Bard said: the fault lies not in the stars (read the company) but in ourselves (read impatient shareholders). TTFN, CTC