El: COMPAQ IR are pointedly saying that historically, COMPAQ has never warned this late before. Let's assume no warning. How bad can the results be without a warning?
I would suggest they cannot be near Kumar's 20 cents, without a warning. But they could be 2-3 cents short - so as low as 29 cents.
How high could they be without a warning? They could certainly be 5/6 cents over current estimates, without a warning - as they were last quarter.
So for all the reasons I have given (1) CPQ has never changed guidance that it was comfortable with original estimates (2) Given all the slander and the legal attacks it has been subjected to, it is in its interest to use every device to meet original estimates (3) Given the availability of $2.9 billion in tax credits (4) Given on- track late February and early March and a reported snap back in the last two weeks in March, representing maybe 30% of sales (5) Given that negative comment has been fuelled by discontented and politically motivated re-sellers and has underestimated sales through direct (6) Given that negative comment has underestimated the variety of products and services from COMPAQ and the accretive growth from the Tandem-Digital lines and services
- YES I am 'umbly, with all too lively sense of my own unworthiness and the sheer poverty of my intellect and the wretcheness of my judgment, especially in such august company, as is commonly found on this 'ere thread, yes, I am 'umbly and with due deference, standing by my prediction of 38 cents, and will 'umbly accept deportation to the penal colony of Australia if my prediction proves incorrect. |
