Tip, This was shameless hype for a company that pre-announced, then had a horrible quarter, and then said they beat the new, much lowered estimates. What a crock.
Let's put it in perspective: This was the second quarter in a row of sequentially lower eps. Before the gullibulls scream "seasonal factors," they didn't have any sequentially lower eps quarters in FY 1997 or FY 1998. Now, 3 out of 4 quarters in FY 1999 have been lower on a sequential basis.
Margins are not declining because the biggest pc OEM, Compaq, has increased the share of profits paid to the channel. This sounds good, but it is a bribe to get them to take another stuff.
TechData is not a bad co. They are well managed and they, along with Ingram and Microage, are definitely taking market share in this fragmented industry. But the days of 30-50% eps growth are over and the sequential problems may hint at worse.
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