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Non-Tech : Office Product Stocks - ODP/SPLS/OMX/VKNG/CEXP/OFIS/BOP -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Douglas who wrote (282)	9/3/2000 11:10:23 PM
From: straight-->arrow	Respond to of 297

That's what makes a horse race. Good luck to you.

To: Robert Douglas who wrote (282)	9/4/2000 12:15:53 PM
From: BWAC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 297

<those who are succeeding (SPLS) and avoid those who are struggling (ODP).> I want to weigh in on just that comment. Just that overall perception. Can you comment or point out specifically what brought you to that conclusion? Is it the analyst reports that used to fawn all over SPLS? Is it because SPLS is the street favorite. Or is it the fact that ODP has missed earnings estimates a few times? Personally, I wouldn't give two cents for my Staples shopping experiences. ODP wins hands down. Product sales prices are essentially the same. But here's where the difference come in. It is in comparison of some important financial ratios. How much do you want to pay for earnings? ODP vs. SPLS Market Cap 2.25 Billion vs. 7.39 Billion Sales 11 Billion vs. 10 Billion Earnings 249 Million vs. 300 Million P/E 10 vs. 24 Throw in the fact of insider buying at ODP. Not a measly 1000 shares here and there, but large substantial purchases by many in management. Throw in ODP conducting a share repurchase plan. A huge one. They have bought back almost $1 BILLION of their own stock this last 12 months. ODP wins in P/E and Sales. SPLS wins in overall earnings and Market Cap. It is unclear which company is the dominate one in the sector. (Ie: Which is more WMT or HD like). However, it is clear that either ODP is undervalued or SPLS is overvalued. Therefore the path of least risk and highest potential upside is ODP. Funny that most of the analyst reports fail to point out any of the above relative information.