To All, The IBM joke:
1. First and most importantly, "PCs are doing great," according to the talking heads on CNBS. Uh, let's see. Personal systems lost $89 million this quarter. I think we need a new definition of "this is great." Notice that Louis The Lip talked about "revenues being up." Duh, if you are willing to lose big bucks, you will sell more boxes. I see this as another confirmation that the pc market sucks, big time.
2. Odd how %SG&A expenses and tax rate declined during this "blowout" quarter. Also odd that these two numbers combined account for all of IBM's increase in income. Man, are they efficient at IBM and at the IRS. <bg> If you throw in a % decline in R&D and you see the entire princely quarter turn into a frog. The most amazing magic trick since David Copperfiels hypnotized Claudia. <g>
3. At last, we can put the lie to the idea that debt is increasing rapidly due to IBM Credit. IBM Credit had a down quarter with less debt extended. Meanwhile, IBM's long term debt rose 5%. It is the parent burning up the plastic, not the sub.
4. Cash is still disappearing at an alarming rate. Let's see, we know it is not being invested in the future, as % R&D is down. It isn't going into shareholders equity, as that is down 5.8%. Yes, folks, cash and long term debt are supporting share buybacks. This is called selling your future for a bowl of porridge today.
5. Investments and other assets declined $1 billion +. I guess the capital gains or losses falls into other income. They don't say. But I do wonder. |
