The latest polls, indicate that the margin has slipped to less than 3 percent, with Mr. Lee ahead in one poll of those who would said they actually planned to vote.

Intel did not forecast earnings, but predicted that its gross margins would probably slip to around 55 percent for the quarter before improving later in the year.

But over the last year, those margins have slipped to 5.5 percent from more than 8.2 percent.

Cisco's gross margins slipped more than a percentage point from 68.4 percent in the prior quarter to 67.2 percent in the first quarter, and inventories were flat to slightly up.

At the end of nine months, the margin had slipped to 4.2 percent from 4.4 percent in the period a year earlier.

Shareholders do fare well when operating earnings edge out projections, but by the same principle, the stocks tumble when operating margins slip just a bit below expectations.

Operating margins have also slipped to 2.4 percent after being 10 percent to 16 percent from 1987 to 1999, analysts said.

From 1997 to 2001, operating margins at hospitals with good access to capital slipped only slightly, to an average of 4.7 percent from 5.2 percent over expenses.

When recession throttled Europe in 1993, revenues contracted for the first time ever; operating margins slipped below 10 percent, beginning a slide that was not arrested until 1996.

A week ago, that margin had slipped to a statistical dead heat.