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Strategies & Market Trends : Technical analysis for shorts & longs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Suresh who wrote (22272)	7/23/1999 5:51:00 AM
From: Clint E.	Respond to of 70040

Hi Suresh. This is what I read. What do you think? Is Bill as good of a showman as Steve? Clint ============================ Friday July 23, 3:06 am Eastern Time FOCUS-Microsoft tries to rein in bullish forecasts (New throughout with latest comments from executives, analysts) By Martin Wolk SEATTLE, July 22 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) executives tried to rein in bullish expectations at their annual meeting with financial analysts on Thursday but appeared to make little headway after another year of strong growth for the software giant. An instant poll of some 300 analysts, reporters and others taken at the end of the daylong meeting found that 40 percent, a plurality, expected revenue growth of 25 percent or more in the coming year, compared with company guidance of less than 20 percent. That was down only slightly from 44 percent in a poll taken at the beginning of the day, during which executives warned of uncertainties in the year ahead, including an expected slowdown in personal computer sales growth. The polls did not necessarily reflect published brokerage estimates. Microsoft President Steve Ballmer, who is traditionally among the most cautious of the executives to present at the annual meeting, called the bullish expectations ''outlandish and crazy.'' ''We have more competition than ever,'' he said. ''We're fighting the law of large numbers in a way we've never fought the law of large numbers.'' But that message was nearly undermined when Chief Financial Officer Greg Maffei, in response to a question, said he expected revenue growth to accelerate again in fiscal 2001. Ballmer and Chief Executive Bill Gates, seated next to Maffei on stage, clearly disagreed. ''Turn off his mike,'' Gates joked after Maffei's comment. For the year that just ended, Microsoft posted revenue of $19.7 billion, up 29 percent over the $15.3 billion in fiscal 1998. Ballmer said that increase compared with Microsoft internal goals calling for $2 billion to $3 billion in revenue growth. Net income was up 73 percent to $7.8 billion. ''Clearly we were a little naive about what was possible,'' Ballmer said. Maffei said there was also disagreement among top management over whether the company should issue a separate tracking stock to reflect the value of the company's Internet properties and said no final decision had been made. It was clear that Microsoft is continuing to struggle to position its Internet business, including the MSN.com portal that was rolled out a year ago. Without providing any specifics, Maffei said losses had deepened over the past year at the company's consumer and commerce group, which includes the online properties, and he said the group's financial position was unlikely to improve in the coming year. This week the company agreed to sell its Sidewalk arts and entertainment guide to rival Ticketmaster Online Citysearch Inc. (Nasdaq:TMCS - news) for about $280 million in stock, and company executives said they would sell off more online properties if appropriate. Vice President Brad Chase, one of two executives in charge of the online business, said Microsoft was concentrating heavily on providing commerce solutions for small businesses and was continuing to invest in Internet access, partly to build customer relationships. Executives reiterated that the much-delayed Windows 2000 operating system, the critical successor product to its lucrative Windows NT line of products, was on track to be released by the end of the calendar year. But Maffei cautioned that corporate buyers likely would be slow to adopt the new system, which he said would mean a relatively slight revenue boost in the current fiscal year. Analysts, accustomed to Microsoft's cautionary stance, agreed there was some uncertainty about the year ahead but said there were few surprises at the meeting. ''We got the message -- for the rest of the year it's a judgment call,'' said Bill Epifanio of J.P. Morgan. Gates said the personal computer would remain a ''very important device'' for the foreseeable future but focused much of his presentation on other products, including lightweight computers that could be connected over wireless networks in the home or office. Gates also said Microsoft was investing heavily in developing a new ''Web-centric platform,'' described as a simpler user interface that would operate across a range of devices from hand-held telephones to large-screen televisions. Maffei said the company continued to see a ''grand opportunity'' in investing in cable television and telecommunications infrastructure companies. But he said it was uncertain whether the company would make additional investments as big as its $5 billion equity stake in AT&T Corp. . Gates agreed that telecommunications was a good investment for Microsoft, although he emphasized the company's investments were largely passive, aimed at speeding development of a world of high-speed Internet connections. ''Nobody should think about that as redefining what Microsoft is,'' he said.