Limtex and others: I had a long talk with Sharon Spehar (sp?) of investor relations yesterday evening. The company does not like to make forward looking statements that might be too optimistic (due to securities regulations). There is a lot of stuff going on that was not covered either in the earnings report or the conference call. Many other areas under development (such as the personal information cards) were not discussed at all. The projected 30 percent increase in revenues was intended to be a minimum estimate.
I think investors are reading too much pessimism into a company that, unlike so many others involved in the tech sector, manages to maintain adequate levels of cash flow, generates most of its capital for expansion internally, and has demonstrated time and time again the validity of its patents and intellectual property. SanDisk not only has the patents and the ideas; it also has the lowest production costs, which means that it can take advantage of price cutting, whereas other competitors will have a difficult time just keeping up.
In judging a fairly young, growing company, an investor should look for three attributes: (1) Proprietary technology, (2) ability to generate cash internally to avoid diluting earnings when expansion or further investment is required, and (3) seasoned, skilled managers. SanDisk has all three. I don't know what more an investor could ask for, except possibly more intelligent stock analysts.
Art |
