Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Muzzy who wrote (56421)	4/9/1999 8:38:00 PM
From: JC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Apple can do well while Compaq stumbles because Apple is selling into the consumer market. Most of Compaq's sales are in the corporate market. The Y2K-related slowdown of corporate sales doesn't isn't a factor in consumer sales. Plus, Apple's products are catchy to the eye where as Compaq makes boring beige boxes -- style is a big deal to the consumer.

To: Muzzy who wrote (56421)	4/9/1999 11:11:00 PM
From: Marc Newman	Respond to of 97611

<<How can a little company such as Apple be making money, in a rebound, and this company,with better products be down?>> Better products? You are kidding, right? Better prices, I might allow. What I've been wondering is whether there will be some move from the "failed" boxmakers to the ones that are growing, ala Apple. I'd say the projection for Apple right now is something like 25% unit growth from the year ago and eps of .60 or more. For a stock in the thirties with a huge book value. And only two months or so until Apple does to the laptop what it did to the consumer space with the iMac. I have to say, I'm as annoyed as Cramer is with this late warning from CPQ. I just bought some AAPL today, a day too soon as it turns out. One other thing Apple has done right is handle product transitions brilliantly. During this seasonally slow period it refreshed both the consumer and professional lines by the second week of the quarter. Hopefully that gives it some leeway from the price-wars going on in the PC zone. JC's reply is good too, as Apple has little broad corporate business to lose to Y2K-induced IT budget whacking. Good luck, Marc

To: Muzzy who wrote (56421)	4/10/1999 12:14:00 AM
From: FruJu	Respond to of 97611

>How can a little company such as Apple be making money, in a rebound, >and this company,with better products be down? Fitz Better products? In what market? Apple is concentrated heavily on the consumer and graphics professional markets, and for them, the iMac and Power Macintosh G3s are better products than what Compaq sells in the same space. But the main reason Apple is making money hand over fist (expected to beat expectations this quarter for the 5th consecutive quarter running) is that they have a hard-nosed management/executive team who has cut expenses to the bone, reduced inventory to record low levels, invested in a very directed marketing approach, and developed very popular and sought-after products. That's a management team Compaq could sorely use.

To: Muzzy who wrote (56421)	4/11/1999 6:27:00 PM
From: rhet0ric	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 97611

How can a little company such as Apple be making money, in a rebound, and this company,with better products be down? This is the funniest thing I've read in a long time. "making money"? In this industry, making money requires strong control over inventory. Compaq has badly mismanaged that for over a year now. Apple's inventory control, on the other hand, rivals Dell's. "Better products"? Compaq's machines are a) commodities that are indistinguishable in specifications than every other PC on the market, except for b) their remarkable ugliness. Apple's new computers are the envy even of Intel and Dell. rhet0ric