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

To: Ian Davidson who wrote (115414)	4/9/1999 1:01:00 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

<<I remember those so well. Here's hoping we won't just have to dream of them. >> I agree..but while I wait for DELL to shift into overdrive I have invested aggressively in high potential internut stocks. The trend can be your friend and I LOVE the excitement. I am still quite young and embrace risk -- once I have done my homework. I'm just hoping DELL will once again become like some of my internet stocks <VBG>....It should be able to perform like AOL....but it seems like its behaving more like MSFT -- a more mature, consistent performing blue chip tech stock. Who Knows....DELL could surprise me ANYDAY now..!!! Best Regards, Scott

To: Ian Davidson who wrote (115414)	4/9/1999 1:19:00 AM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

Dell expects closer ties with IBM Ian: Just saw this bit of news out of Austin.Could there be something big in the works? Guess we'll have to stay tuned to find out,eh? =========================== But Texas computer maker won't comment on speculation of possible takeover of Big Blue's PC production By Jerry Mahoney American-Statesman Staff Published: April 9, 1999 NEW YORK -- Dell Computer Corp. will continue to build on its fledgling relationship with IBM, but Dell officials at an analysts meeting Thursday stopped short of commenting on growing Wall Street speculation that it will take over IBM's personal computer production. "I can't believe our relationship won't be enhanced over time," Dell Chief Financial Officer Tom Meredith said during a meeting with more than 300 analysts during Dell's annual spring visit to Wall Street. Since last month when the companies announced a seven-year, $16 billion deal for Dell to buy IBM technology, there has been persistent speculation that the next step will involve Dell supplying PCs to IBM while IBM's vaunted service division expands Dell's reach around the world. Meredith said the companies began negotiating the current agreement last summer, several months before an earlier one expired. "We felt we could introduce IBM . . . technology into the marketplace faster than their sister company," Meredith said, pointing out that IBM's PC division had revenue of $12 billion last year, but lost almost $1 billion. In contrast, Dell had sales of $18.2 billion and made nearly $1.5 billion in profits. Its relationship with IBM aside, Dell officials assured analysts that the Round Rock-based computer maker will continue to outpace the rest of the PC industry in sales growth. It will do so, they said, by expanding its push into the consumer market, adding more service offerings -- and maybe even taking a cue from Apple Computer Inc.'s success with the iMac and producing more stylish computers. "We believe that the advantages we have are as strong as they ever have been in our industry," Chief Executive Michael Dell said, adding that there will be a "massive upgrade cycle" when Microsoft Corp. releases its most powerful operating systems this year or next. But while the Dell executives are a portrait of confidence about the company's prospects in an increasingly Internet-driven industry, they reminded the analysts whose companies advise millions of investors that Dell is not predicting results. In fact, executives appeared to be mindful of Wall Street's disappointment and the selloff of Dell shares that followed Dell's fourth-quarter earnings report in February. While Dell's revenue grew a very healthy 38 percent over the year-earlier quarter, some investors were disappointed that it slipped below 50 percent for the first time in several quarters. "We're talking about a sustainability of our performance, not necessarily a change in that performance," Don Collis, Dell vice president for investor relations, told analysts at the Pierre Hotel near Central Park. Dell expects to add to its service revenues in part by doing more consulting to large business and government customers, said Vice Chairman Kevin Rollins. That includes helping them set up Dell's most expensive and complex systems linking multiple servers to networks of storage devices that contain vast amounts of data that must be available at all times. "They want to keep moving up the food chain," said Erik Ridgley, vice president of Provident Investment Counsel of Pasadena, Calif. "They can't wait for other people to get there." Even a small increase in service work could translate to significant gains in revenue, said Rollins, who said the service market is expected to grow from $239 billion in 1996 to $464 billion in 2001. Dell's confidence in its growth prospects stems in part from the fact that it has about 9 percent of world sales of PC products, and its conviction that the direct model it pioneered will succeed in any market. Executives say the company's "fair share" of sales is much higher. While Dell's consumer business shipments grew 80 percent last year, Dell accounts for only about 5 percent of sales to those customers. Many consumers buy computers through retail stores, which Dell abandoned several years ago. That and Dell's strategy until recently of not aggressively targeting consumers held sales back. But Dell's new efforts to reach those customers through advertising and marketing have substantially increased awareness of the company in the past 18 months, said Senior Vice President Paul Bell. Consumers and small businesses account for $3 billion in annual sales for Dell, he said. Asked in an interview what Dell's fair share of the consumer business is, Michael Dell responded, "How about 30 percent?" Earlier, Dell complemented Apple Computer Inc. for its mold-breaking iMac, which has been very popular with consumers. "It was a wake-up call for the PC industry," Dell said. "You can expect to see from Dell more consumer-friendly and stylish-looking products."