behind,well behind, in the dust

Gold Left Some Investors in the Dust

Gold is up more than 11% this year but shares of gold miners have fallen almost 16%, and that has hurt some of the biggest names on Wall Street.

Apple's Chinese partner says it has sold more than 100,000 of the iconic smartphones, but the figure still puts iPhone sales there well behind other big markets.

idioms:

in the dust

1. Far behind, as in a race or competition: a marketing strategy that left our competitors in the dust.

Type: Public
On the web: http://www.dupont.com
Employees: 60,000
Employee growth: 0.0%

E. I. du Pont de Nemours wants to cover your house, feed your crops, and coat your car. The #3 US chemical maker (behind Dow and ExxonMobil Chemicals) operates through five business units. These segments produce coatings (automotive finishes and coatings), crop protection chemicals and genetically modified seeds, electronic materials (LCDs, sensors, and fluorochemicals), polymers and resins for packaging and other uses, and safety and security materials (under brand names like Tyvek, Kevlar, and Corian). In this decade, the company has slimmed down, exiting the pharmaceutical business and spinning off its fibers operations, and DuPont is now focusing on biotechnology and safety and protection.

The Gulf War temporarily drove up oil prices and refinery margins, leading to profits of over $1 billion for Conoco in 1990. But a worldwide recession was hurting most of the rest of the company. Profits for 1991 fell to $1.4 billion on sales of $38.7 billion, down from sales of $40 billion in 1990. The firm's electronics products had garnered little prestige within the industry and had fallen well behind earlier projections. Consequently, DuPont began pulling back, beginning by selling an electronic connectors business with $400 million in annual sales. DuPont also took a step back from pharmaceuticals, putting that division into a joint venture with Merck & Co.