El: EP said yesterday ( I know, I know!) that the reason they waited for a few days after March was to be absolutely certain that they
could give firm guidance. As you know he was speaking to we SI investors when he said that.
For a change, I'll speculate on the bright side.
Given what rudedog has said about the difficulty of collecting and collating numbers, how could the 15 cents have included tax credits, unless they really took a chance with a rough guess?
So maybe they will find some of that $2.9 billion that The 1998 Annual Report states is still available to bump up the eps, as they did in 4Q. Of course, the critics would leap on it, but so what. I didn't hear them complaining about CSCO when it grew through acquistion, as it still does, and used tax credits to sweeten its bottom line in the process. Tax saved, is after all, tax earned.
Maybe there are a few other bits and pieces they can fiddle to put the best foot forward. I was worried that what she_x heard about them writing off this quarter and taking all the costs they could, would lessen their motivation to do better than 15 cents. But given the pasting that EP and Mason have taken and the extent of the damage, perhaps they should do what they can for this quarter.
Then there is the business of the Brazil devaluation - the way they deal with that could make a difference.
rudedog's comment that maybe they still don't know the numbers is a bit chilling since it leaves open the possibility that they have overestimated them, but I'll leave you to speculate about that, that's not my job. |
