10 years ago Michael Dell said Apple should close shop

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Look HERE for a blast from the past.

Published: October 6, 1997, 2:00 PM PDT

ORLANDO, Florida--When it comes to the state of Apple Computer, everyone has an opinion.

And at the Gartner Symposium and ITxpo97 here today, the CEO of competitor Dell Computer added his voice to the chorus when asked what could be done to fix the Mac maker. His solution was a drastic one.

"What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders," Michael Dell said before a crowd of several thousand IT executives.

What has happened since then? Well look HERE to this 10 year chart. Apple's stock is up ~2700% in the last 10 years, Dell's stock is flat lined over 10 years.

Why, what happened? Well Dell just seems to keep posting disapointing earnings. Today they reported and it's stock price is down 10% after hours.

I think Mr Dell should shut down shop and give the money back to the shareholders :roflmao:

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IMO it is really bad form for the CEO of a large company to make such comments about a competitor, especially in front of a crowd of thousands of IT professionals. Talk about being a {bleep}y a**hole and having your words come back to bite you hard. :crazy:

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If you're going to throw useless statistics out, then why not look at both companies for the last 15 years, 20 years, 25 years?

Because he made his remark 10 years ago, I chose a 10 year chart. That only makes sense.

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So, I'd say at the time Dell was probably right.

Right that Apple should have closed shop? It was dark days for Apple for sure, but I don't agree with the statement. Apple went on to become one of the greatest stories tech has ever seen.

My main point is it was a stupid statement for a man in his position, to say about a competitor, in front of thousands of IT pros. I bet he wishes he never made such a statement, it probably will come back to bite him. Steve Jobs was just named most powerful businessman by Forbes. Michael Dell otoh has calls for his ouster. What if the most powerful businessman made such statements about him and Dell in 2007? :-D

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adolescent wrote:
Ever seen Triumph of the Nerds?  Jobs slams Microsoft at every turn, and continues to do so to this day.  So, should the "Forbes Most Powerful Business Person" do this?

Never seen Triumph of the nerds. OTOH I do see a point you are making, the switch commercials are a bit of a slam..

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Waccoon wrote:
Apple's stock price didn't change much with the introduction of the colorful iMacs and OSX, though.  It's the iPod that did it, transforming Apple from a computer company into a media company.

True, it was the iPod that turned the company around. However there has been the Halo Effect driving sales to the Mac. Now the Mac itself is a main driver for PPS appreciation.  Investors are expecting an eventually slowing of iPod sales, though slowing has not happened yet.