That classic old question:
"We have bad news, and good news
(and then more bad news)...
Which do you want to hear first?"
Or, perhaps to put it another way,
"The Good, The Bad.......and The (really) Ugly."
Heck, we've gone from "The Little Engine That Could" (GNET) making increasing profits (pro forma) quarter after quarter for about six straight darn quarters (always greatly beyond the "street's" expectations)...to "A Big Engine That Can't," in just two quarters (really closer to just over one "true" Qtr.) after the "merger." As a long-time GNET investor, THIS REALLY SUCKS BIG-TIME!!!
Where is Uncle Paul when we badly need him? IMHO, this is a mess! It will be very interesting to see what "plan" the "current?" management of INSP announces in about 30 days, regarding their "scaling back." Perhaps by just restating the obvious fact that, "We'll be the world's first trillion dollar company," will allay all our concerns. Yeah, right...sadly LOL...with tears dripping down plashing into our beers.
Geesh, as the old saying goes, "If you can't dazzle the with your brilliance, baffle them with your bulls**t." You can always bring in some of the world's top business visionaries and managers...and then just get rid of them all again and again...and then keep telling the World over and over yet again, "We have only one TRUE brilliant 'visionary' leader here...who now works at least 48 hrs/day (3x16)...all by himself." Wasn't it Forrest Gump who said, "Leadership is as leadership does"...or was that "stupid is..."
It seems that everyone who knew both Russell Horowitz and ArunSarin not only liked them as people of high integrity and personal values, but also greatly respected them as people with absolutely incredible leadership abilities and vision. I'm still trying to find someone, anyone (whether an individual investor or someone from Wall Street), who feels that way about the "current" leader of INSP. If someone has a positive link, please post it for all of us. Heck, as yet one more commentary, I stumbled across these old posts from a person who had a little something to say on two SI threads, many moons ago (apparently no love lost here): #reply-6700253 and #reply-13243341.
Even the world's richest man Bill Gates in his prime (before Melinda), only got up to about 12-14 hrs/day (roughly 90-95 hrs/week), 7 days/week (when he didn't have a wife and kids). And he always tried to keep his really great people. And I believe co-founder Paul left the company primarily for health reasons, but stayed on the BOD (and as major shareholder) for decades. And you may have noticed, Balmer's still there.
Sorry gang, I just had to "vent" a bit. I guess feel a little better now...but it's way too soon to be absolutely sure. <g> And to you "new" investors, please don't get me wrong...I still have a ton of stock tied up in this company, and very much hope the company will do well in the future. And I'm sorry for all this rambling...but I am a little p**sed with all this crap! This too will pass. <g>
BAD NEWS: INSP management shake-up (1/22/01)
...1. Arun Sarin: resigns as CEO
...2. Russell Horowitz: resigns as President, COO, & BOD Member
...3. Rand Rosenberg: resigns as CFO
...4. Steve Goldenberg (former VP at GNET): Gone from INSP
...5. Ethan Caldwell (former General Council at GNET): Gone from INSP
...6. Mark Peterson (former Director at GNET): Gone from INSP
...7. Others: ??????????
GOOD NEWS: 4th Qtr. 2000 earnings report beats estimates by $.03 (1/29/01)
BAD NEWS: Conference Call, with Future Guidance (1/29/01)
Yet another article below (bold added):
siliconinvestor.com
********************************
By Scott Hillis
SEATTLE, Jan 29 (Reuters) - InfoSpace Inc.(NASDAQ:INSP), which syndicates content to Web sites and wireless services, on Monday posted a quarterly profit that blew past Wall Street forecasts but said the slowing U.S. economy would force it into the red this year.
InfoSpace reported a pro forma net profit of $12.6 million, or 4 cents per diluted share, in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $7.8 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based company was expected to earn 1 cent a share, according to consensus Wall Street estimates compiled by First Call/Thomson Financial.
Although revenues rose 125 percent to $66.1 million from $29.4 million a year ago, that was in line with what most analysts expected, leading some to say that the higher profit was due largely to reduced expenses.
But the company painted a gloomy outlook, saying it would lose money in every quarter this year as weak consumer businesses offset its fast-growing wireless offerings.
"Our consumer business is likely to be affected by the general softness in the U.S. economy, much like the rest of the companies in technology and other sectors," Chief Financial Officer Tammy Halstead told a conference call.
That meant InfoSpace would post a pro forma net loss of 14 cents per share, with revenues flat at about $215 million, Halstead said. The first-quarter loss would be about 5 cents per share on revenues of $45 million.
Shares in InfoSpace rose nearly 20 percent in after-hours trading on Instinet before giving up some of that gain to trade at about $6-7/8, up 14 percent.
SCALING BACK
InfoSpace, whose customers include such blue-chip companies as AT&T and American Express, has seen its once-lofty share price tumble from a year high of $138-1/2 last March.
Company founder Naveen Jain, who reassumed the title of Chief Executive last week, said executives would present a plan in about 30 days to scale back its consumer operations, much of which it acquired when it bought Seattle-based rival Go2Net last year in a multibillion-dollar stock deal.
"We have been rigorously examining the business line and we will be de-emphasizing certain products that are not strategic to the business plan," Jain said, adding that the company would make "few or no acquisitions" this year.
InfoSpace is clearly placing big bets on wireless services, which are becoming more popular as mobile phone users demand things like news, stock quotes and weather data -- exactly what InfoSpace packages and sells.
InfoSpace saw its services used by more than 1.5 million wireless subscribers at the end of last year, and wireless revenues in 2001 would more than double last year's $18 million, Jain said.
CUTTING EXPENSES
Much of the gain in fourth quarter profits appeared to come from lower expenses, said Epcoh Partners analyst Matt Adams, noting that the $35.9 million in sales, general and administrative expenses was several million dollars less than he had expected.
"The next step is convincing people that they can execute on the wireless business without the guiding hand of Arun," Adams said, referring to the company's former Chief Executive Arun Sarin, who quit that job last week citing family reasons.
Sarin, a respected veteran of the cellular telephone industry, had been expected to lead InfoSpace's charge on the wireless market. Although Sarin remains as a vice-chairman focusing on the company's wireless and international strategy, his stepping down as CEO rattled investors and led some investment houses to downgrade InfoSpace's stock.
Copyright © 2000 Reuters Limited. |
