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To: Margaret Mateer who wrote (23410)4/5/2000 11:15:00 AM
From: Margaret Mateer  Respond to of 57584
 
I'm not trying to pick on csco and have no position in
the stock - just instructive to us all to think about these big cap tech leaders...

To: Kevin Podsiadlik who wrote (54127)
From: ztect Tuesday, Apr 4, 2000 4:07 PM ET
Respond to Post # 54129 of 54199

Here's another interesting read re: overstated earnings ...............
This is a case study: Imagine how the issues addressed pertain to less august technology companies.

"At Cisco, Options Machine Churns Unfettered"
By DAVID LEONHARDT

nytimes.com.

Cisco Systems, the Internet equipment maker that is one of the three most valuable companies in the world, is a good case study.

The company is a heavy user of stock options, the form of pay that accounting rules say does not have to be counted
against earnings.

Last July, Cisco's employees held some 439 million
outstanding options.

Cisco says that giving large option grants to managers ties their pay to the company's performance -- and few investors would argue with Cisco's performance.

But some institutional investors and management experts are worried about the long-term cost of giving employees large, discounted stakes in their companies.....

...Cisco reported $2.1 billion in net income in 1999, but accounting for options would have erased $500 million of that [earnings], according to a footnote in the annual report. That would amount to a 24 percent reduction in earnings per share. .................

for complete article click link above
=========================================
footnote. Executive Compensation too high?

CEO of Cisco, John Chambers Compensation
Total of Direct '99 Compensation and profits from options in '99
$121,700,129

Estimated current value of option granted in '99
$158,565,500 (as of Sunday April 2,2000)

Value of Options of all options held at end of '99 fiscal year
$482,452,705