How annoyed those naysayers must be. Sun raced past them by taking center stage in the Internet revolution. Faster, in fact, than at any other time in the past decade. No wonder Sun's stock price has increased tenfold in the past five years. But at long last, Sun's doubters have new reason to feel hope.
High tech is in a slump.
Some of the Web sites that contributed so generously to Sun's growth are going kaput. Investors reckon Sun can't escape the devastation, and they have pounded the company's shares accordingly. Even Sun's relentlessly upbeat chief executive, Scott McNealy, is bracing for pain. In a Dec. 19 memo to employees, McNealy warns of a slowing economy and says Sun will pull back on spending and hiring plans. But that amounts to mere tweaking on a massive growth engine.