What has 3 Letters and Rules the Land of Public Techs for Twenty Years?

I couldn't sleep the other night. I woke thinking of missed opportunity ... EMC's 20th anniversary listing on the NYSE.  We went up on the NYSE in 1988, I was fairly certain.

First thing the next morning I walked into the Boardroom area where the listing certificate hangs on the wall. Bingo! 1988. 

So what I wanted to know ... is EMC possibly the most appreciated tech stock during that 20 year period? 

I went over to my old home inside of Investor Relations and asked the crew if they'd mind looking into it. 

Here is a preliminary finding ...

 

EMC is up over 16,000 percent (!) and exceeded the tech stocks that hit their radar who have been public for at least 20 years -- IBM, HP and Microsoft.   That's EMC in the blue, followed by MSFT in the green, HPQ in the red and IBM way down there in the yellow.

Could we possibly be the best tech of the past two decades?  That, or even close to that would be pretty darned cool.

What does it all mean?  Track record of "Sustainable Energized Success."  Few companies are even around for 20 or more years.  Fewer in tech. This is a crazy volatile industry. To show that type of performance over 20 years, you have to, as our credo states, "lead change and change to lead" again and again and again and again ...

I recall someone on our IPO road show really ticked off EMC's Founder Dick Egan.  After hearing the pitch on our business and profitability model, the guy raised his hand and asked, "Understanding that all companies go out of business, what do you think will cause your demise?"

I think Dick should email this picture to that guy and tell him where to put it.

Of course we're not done and what got us here won't keep us here ... but still, "hip hip hurray!" for the folks from Hopkinton.