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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: johnd who wrote (43415)	4/25/2000 3:07:00 PM
From: brian z	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Is the same Ballmer said that MS stock was over valued last August? Now he is trying to say that his stock is under valued or cheap ...What a joker! I said before that MS people, Gates and Ballmer in particular, keep getting things worse. They had very hard times to do anything right (from getting into internet business to handling the case). I don't see any changes in the company yet. I am not saying MSFT is dying or something like that but I would not be surprised if I see more troubles with the company. ............ Microsoft to Issue New Options To Employees Amid Stock Slump By REBECCA BUCKMAN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL REDMOND, Wash. -- Microsoft Corp., its stock battered by a continuing antitrust lawsuit and news of slowing earnings growth, will give employees new stock-option grants to try to boost their compensation -- and morale. In an electronic-mail message sent to all domestic and international employees, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said eligible employees would receive options to buy Microsoft shares at Monday's closing stock price of $66.625. Microsoft's Stock Tumbles on Slower Earnings Growth, Breakup Fears (April 25) Microsoft shares sank 16% to close at $66.625 Monday, and the stock is down more than 40% from its 52-week high. The move is intended to help employees -- who generally derive a big chunk of their annual compensation from stock -- who are stuck with stock options they can't exercise because their "strike price" is too high. In the e-mail, Mr. Ballmer told employees Microsoft was doling out the new option grants "to ensure that you are able to continue to fulfill your plans for the future despite the unusual volatility in the stock market and our stock price." The grants will vary in size, but will generally equal the size of grants employees received during their regular performance reviews last summer. Microsoft will also match special awards given to employees or new hires since then, according to the e-mail. "Strong achievers" will get more options this year, Mr. Ballmer said. The grants were effective Monday, but the options are expected to vest gradually over a number of years. "I think the grants since July will have value long run, but I want to preempt undue concerns by awarding these new grants that will let people see returns much sooner," he wrote. Mr. Ballmer also alluded to other, large grants given out recently to high-ranking executives and software developers. People familiar with the situation say some of those grants --designed to stem the recent flow of departures from the software company -- were for awards of 200,000 or more shares of stock. In an interview, Mr. Ballmer declined to comment on the specifics of the grant program, but said executives decided only Monday to issue the new shares. "We recognize how great software gets built," he said, and that is "by great people." Mr. Ballmer also reiterated his bullish stance on the company's business prospects in the note to employees, touting growth in the company's Internet service and prospects for its new line of Windows 2000 products. He noted that the company reported $2.39 billion in earnings in its just-ended quarter, "and that's $2.39 billion more profit than most dot-coms made in the last quarter." And, reiterating the company's long held stance in the antitrust battle, Mr. Ballmer wrote that "absolutely nothing in the current case justifies breaking us up." Monday, people familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal that the federal government was considering splitting the company into two divisions, separating out Microsoft's lucrative software-applications group, which makes the Office software suite. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------