While the foregoing case for e-commerce boosting Dell’s performance is fairly strong, a counter
argument about the value of e-commerce to Dell might be indicated by the company’s modest
performance in the past year and a half. In a period when its earlier and ongoing investments in
the Internet and e-commerce should be paying big dividends, Dell’s growth has slowed, its
profit margins have thinned, and its stock price has dropped by over 50% from its peak.