PC growth stumbles again
updated 08:15 am EST, Mon January 22, 2001
PC growth last quarter fell to its lowest level in seven years, according to Gartner Dataquest. Worldwide fourth quarter growth came in at 10.1% over the 1999 period, bringing annual growth down to 14.5%, compared to 23% in 1999. "Apple's [fourth quarter] shipments in the U.S. and worldwide markets fell by 50 percent and 40 percent respectively. Had Apple achieved flat growth total market growth would have been almost 2 percentage points higher in the US and one percentage point higher worldwide," the report states.
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What does one expect from following the "advice" of self-serving stock analysts. Make a dirt cheap PC (Mac included with imac, but the Mac story is a bit more complicated) that sells like crazy until the market's saturated, then it's downhill. Started several years ago when the normal consumer market started to slow. "Make 'em cheaper" and of course with less returns. Remember the call for a $500 PC (that would sell like crazy but make no money)? Works for a while & sales & share price go up. But then the market becomes REALLY saturated and sales drop off. Fund managers then dump on the downturn and made their $$$, and the share price REALLY goes down. CEO's need the stones to not follow every analyst's advice.