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Strategies & Market Trends : Market Gems:Stocks w/Strong Earnings and High Tech. Rank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jenna who wrote (62443)	9/22/1999 1:25:00 AM
From: Susan G	Respond to of 120523

Corel Has the Conch September 21, 1999/FOOLWIRE/ -- Shares of Canadian graphics and business software developer Corel Corp. (Nasdaq: CORL) jumped more than 20% today -- trading as high as $10 3/16 -- following last night's after-market announcement of third-quarter earnings from operations. The Q3 results beat First Call's four-analyst estimate by a nickel at $0.17 per share. Last year the company turned in a $0.13 per share loss. Corel has now closed the book on three consecutive quarters of profitability -- and back-to-back upside surprises -- following years belowdecks. "I believe that this quarter fully delivers on the promise we made almost two years ago to return Corel to a position of financial strength and sustainable profitability," said CFO Michael O'Reilly. "Our outlook for Q4 remains positive." Wall Street is looking for a dime's profit, flat with 1998, to close out a profitable year. If O'Reilly's right, Corel is poised to put behind it a run of bad results that had the company's shares below $2 apiece at times over the past 12 months. The company has some momentum behind it, having launched key products WordPerfect Office 2000 and CorelDraw 9 in Q2 and remodeling its online store this summer. But a big part -- if not THE big part -- of the investor optimism surrounding Corel has to be attached to the latest, greatest buzzword going: Linux. The company expects to launch its own version of the red-hot, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)-fighting operating system later this year. (Linux versions of some of Corel's office software products have been shipping for some time.) Today, Corel said it began beta-testing of its desktop version of Linux. It "has enhanced the graphical user interface," the company said, "and created a new installation program that is much simpler than existing desktop PC operating systems." Corel also listed off a group of research and development partnerships in connection with its planned Linux offering, including pacts with Philips (NYSE: PHG) to speech-enable its upcoming Linux products as it has with several of the international versions of WordPerfect Office 2000; with Linux games vendor Loki Entertainment Software, which is working to make its PC and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Macintosh titles Linux compatible; and with Webb Interactive (Nasdaq: WEBB) and eFax.com (Nasdaq: EFAX), which are developing Linux-enabled Internet-based instant messaging and fax capabilities. Corel is also negotiating with North American Internet service providers, adding that America Online's (NYSE: AOL) Netscape Navigator and Adobe's (Nasdaq: ADBE) Acrobat Reader will be among the applications bundled with its Linux offering. A lengthy list of stocks have benefited from Linux-related boosts in recent months; it's a safe bet that a good bit of today's pop in Corel was also Linux-inspired, as investors hope the company will eventually achieve Red Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT)-like share price levels. If Corel can maintain the momentum it's shown over the past three quarters and keep costs stable, the company could eventually provide reliable returns for investors. Still, exactly how companies are going to turn Linux into bottom-line profits is a pretty speculative issue -- particularly in Corel's case as the company is counting on desktop acceptance of the system in a space dominated by Rule Maker Microsoft. As such, investors serious about finding a jewel in Corel should watch its core software operations closely. -- By Dave Marino-Nachison For complete market coverage written by investors, for investors, click over to www.fool.com.

To: Jenna who wrote (62443)	9/22/1999 2:56:00 AM
From: BRANDYBGOOD	Respond to of 120523

Jenna, that's where your staff should come in, verifying earnings reports w/ the companies etc. I would be glad to let you know on the ones I personally call (which are quite a few). I have relied on a few reports in the past that have let me down, which have cost me $$. I would be glad to share the info that I personally verify w/ the co's. Though they sometimes never report on the days scheduled.