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Technology Stocks : MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jimbo who wrote (505)	3/22/2000 8:36:00 AM
From: Arial	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 717

SciQuest, for one, according to the Washington Post. The better question is who ISN'T playing these games? washingtonpost.com

To: Jimbo who wrote (505)	3/22/2000 4:21:00 PM
From: Turs	Respond to of 717

In relation to software companies with questionable revs, there are many things companies can do to make the top line look better than the business. I haven't come across any company being as aggressive as MSTR, but there may be a few out there. Saylor was quoted as saying he knows several other software companies that are going to have to restate based on the accy pronouncement that forced MSTR's hand. But I think he was trying to deflect attention from his company's own culpability. MSTR claims that it had structured several very complex deals and not clearly broken out licensed software from services in each case. That may be so, but these deals were questionable to begin with strictly because of their complexity. Other companies don't seem to have a problem making the terms clear in their contracts. Otherwise, you should look for things like rising receivables as a percentage of reported revenue as a sign of a tough quarter. Also, be wary of Net companies that are reporting gross revenue, even though they essentially just resell some good like a hotel room or a book. Those revs should be valued like a retailer (low multiple of revs), not like a software company (high multiple of revs). Priceline, Buy.com, Ventro (the old Chemdex) are examples of the latter. Happy hunting, Turs