fwiw, fleeting post-earnings comments from jim jubak (via investor).
Updates
Picking up on telecom mergers
Posted 10/20/98
Tellabs (TLAB) isn't out of the woods yet, but the forest doesn't seem quite so dark and threatening. On Oct. 15, the company announced record sales and earnings, each up 37% from the same quarter in 1997. The results beat Wall Street earnings estimates of 46 cents a share by 3 cents. That's good news for investors who were worried, as I was, that the recent on/off/on and finally off again merger with Ciena (CIEN) might have done lasting damage to Tellabs' sales. Key products, however, continued to sell well. Sales of the flagship Titan5000 cross-connect product, for example, grew by 34%. But CEO Michael Birck didn't lay out the company's roadmap for the future beyond mentioning plans to launch several new products in the near future. And, with Wall Street worried that Tellabs isn't strong enough to make it alone in an era of consolidation in the telecommunications equipment business, developing a convincing plan for future growth remains the most crucial challenge facing the company. |
