SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Technology Stocks : Micron Only Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Patrick Hennessey who wrote (46245)6/11/1999 12:19:00 AM
From: Skeeter Bug  Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 53903
 
patrick, if the dram business is so great, why is mu in the hock for $1.5 billion and have to issue mondo shares almost immediately after the best of times anyone could imagine?

reported eps is not the same as cash flow - mu has never had it. iow, how long can i spend $5 to make $4? eventually, i run out of dough (and take on debt, sell pieces of my business and issue shares - sound familiar? ;-)

the key here that i think is very important is that there will be an inflection point. profits will decline this q and decline a lot. how can you have a recovery when you are losing more money now than last q? that is a recovery in reverse, isn't it?

mu is trading on gagga now and may continue to do so until the eps release. i will continue to buy higher strikes and cheaper puts all the way up to earnings.

a 25 cent + short fall in eps that debunks the dram recovery thesis will not be rewarded.

all imho...



To: Patrick Hennessey who wrote (46245)6/11/1999 12:25:00 PM
From: A. A. LaFountain III  Respond to of 53903
 
Pat: re "As long as this is a remote possibility"

At least we can agree on the remote part!

Four things to remember about 1995:

1) The build-to-plan nature of the PC vendors for the W95 rollout led to a spike in DRAM demand that was unsubstantiated by end-user consumption.

2) The delayed crossover to x16 16Mb parts distorted 4Mb pricing - for two years.

3) MU was making parts in 1995 on equipment that had been heavily depreciated, so costs were (artificially) low - annual DRAM sales were $2.50 for every $ of s/c PP&E in F95, but this year that figure will be below $1.00.

4) PC revenues were only 15% of the revenue stream; they're much higher now, with gross and operating margins well below the numbers you cited for Nov95.

----
Most interesting thing, though, is stock price action. MU's price peaked at 17x the most recent qtr EPS annualized, and MU's P/E ratio was 9x when the quarterly EPS peaked a few months later. I believe that much of the excitement about a cyclical recovery in DRAM profitability tends to conveniently overlook the multiple compression aspect of stock pricing. - Tad LaFountain