Stephen,
Guy can't commute home without all H*** breaking loose. Picked this up off my news service. Bet everyone has read it. So I will back track for details. Think I will wait before sending the train to load up on this one. But I am going to send the train. Still a great company and I don't want to be crying in my beer next year about a missed opportunity. At the same time this is going to hurt big time on my april calls. Got to cover the July put I sold fast. Will keep the put insurance I bought. It might make some money.
NW
Subj: Compaq: Bad Sales Wiped Out Profits
Date: 98-03-06 17:21:38 EST
Compaq: Bad Sales Wiped Out Profits
.c The Associated Press
By DAVID E. KALISH
NEW YORK (AP) - Compaq Computer Corp., the largest maker of personal computers, on Friday warned that flat PC sales and price wars would wipe out its profits in the first quarter.
Compaq said that it had cut prices of its business desktop computers amid intense competition for corporate customers.
The warning came two days after Intel Corp. said that its quarterly results also would fall below expectations and further raised the possibility of a slowdown in the technology industry.
Compaq earlier this week told analysts that it was having trouble trimming bloated inventories.
Like other PC makers, Compaq is trying to dramatically reduce inventories in warehouses so that it can bring new products to market faster and spend less trying to sell out the old products.
Compaq chief executive Eckhard Pfeiffer said the company is cutting prices to reduce the inventories.
Compaq's flat revenues and roughly break-even earnings were below expectations of most Wall Street analysts, who expected the company to have a profit of about $525 million, according to First Call.
A year ago, the Houston-based company earned $387 million on sales of $4.81 billion.
AP-NY-03-06-98 1718EST
Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. |
