Top Fund Managers Find AMZN management "slick" and "knows how to
tell a good story".
[The below article was part of an interview with the Kaufman
Fund managers - Its average annual return over those 10 years
was 26%, compared to the S&P 500's average of 18.9%. The fund's
cumulative return over that period was 906%--almost double that
of the S&P 500 index. AMZN's down 40% since interview.
From Money, September, 1998
...Amazon. com, one of the hottest stocks of the past year, also
failed to impress. After making a slick presentation, the company refused to answer detailed questions, citing concerns about confidentiality. Says Joy Covey, Amazon's CFO: "The last thing we want to do is provide a road map for our competitors." The attitude, Utsch rails, was, "You've got to trust me." Kaufmann has shorted this stock too, which has doubled since the fund bet against it. Still, Utsch remains convinced that it'll plummet: "It now sells for a higher valuation than Borders and Barnes & Noble combined." This attitude of aggressive skepticism has been key to Kaufmann's success. "In some cases it creates real animosity," says Larry Marsh, a director of equity research at Salomon Smith Barney. "I've seen situations where CEOs turn red in the face and sputter answers. The ones who tell a good story but don't run a good company tend to react the worst." |
