Compaq Computer Corp appears to be coming out in front in the badtle between old and new buses – at least according to Goldman Sachs analyst Daniel Benton: Benton polls 30 computer dealers every month, and says his latest poll indicates that Compaq’s sales were astounding in February and that the company is gaining market share at the expense of IBM Corp – and January sales weren’t hay either; he now looks for the Houston hustlers to do $1.90 a share in the first quarter, up from his previous estimate of $1.73 – against $1.21 last time; the returns from the dealers gave Compaq 37%, IBM 36%, Apple Computer Inc’s Macintosh 12%, all others 15% – the first time that Compaq has topped IBM in the poll; as recently as November, IBM showed up with 41%, while Compaq was down at 28%.
