William, let's analyze the numbers, shall we. According to WSRN, eps from 1993 through 1998 inclusive were: .17, -.07, .20, .34, .69, 1.28 respectively. For the five year horizon, eps growth averaged 49.7% , and for the last three years (96 through 98) growth was 70%, 103% and 86% year over year.
It seems to me based on these data that there is no factual basis for your comment. You should also be cognizant of the fact that time series like these are seldom smooth, and it is a great mistake to infer lasting structural changes based on one or two data points. So yes, last year's growth of 86% was less than the preceding year's growth (103%), but higher than the penultimate year's grow of 70%.
Let me illustrate how susceptible these conclusions are to the timing of revenue recognition. Suppose two cents of earnings in 1997 had been shifted to 1996, so that the earnings were now .36, .67 and 1.28.
Now we would have sequential growth of 80%, 86% and 91%.
TTFN,
CTC |
