Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Thunder who wrote (52067)	10/23/2000 3:25:46 PM
From: johnd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Bear Stearns pick MSFT Bear Stearns picks 23 stocks based on new disclosure rules MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2000 2:57 PM - Reuters 10-23 0329 Bear Stearns picks 23 stocks based on new disclosure rules NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Take a long, hard look at the earnings histories of companies you're thinking of investing in, recommends one top Wall Street firm. In the new era of full disclosure, the past may hold the only clues to what a company is capable of in the future. Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure) -- created to make companies evenhandedly disseminate information that could move the price of its shares -- will force companies to clam up and will make investing harder, investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. said in a research note on Monday. "It is even more important for investors to identify companies with good earnings consistency," said Liz Mackay, the firm's chief investment strategist. "A company's earnings history and the quality of its management could be the only benchmark on which investors can base their investment decisions." Bear Stearns compiled a list of 23 companies with reliable earnings histories, indicating they will report profit growth in the future. Strong compound earnings growth for an extended time period and five-year sales growth around 10 percent were two of the criteria Bear Stearns used to pick the companies. A full list follows: American Home Products Corp. (NYSE:AHP) American International Group (NYSE:AIG) Applebee's International, Inc. (NASDAQ NM:APPB) Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE:SCH) Danaher Corp. (NYSE:DHR) EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC) Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ NM:EXPD) Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) Jacobs Engineering Group Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ NM:MSFT) Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE:SGP) Solectron Corp. (NYSE:SLR) Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ NM:SUNW) Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Femsa (NYSE:FMX) Television Francaise 1 (:)

To: Thunder who wrote (52067)	10/23/2000 3:27:09 PM
From: Dave	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Re "The end is near! The end is near! <G>" Unfortunately, I don't think MSFT's demise is going to happen any time in the next several decades. They will continue to sell upgrades and replacement OS and Office software for the installed base of PCs, along with whatever dwindling new PC purchases are made in the future. Sure, many people will install Linux or some other new OS on those legacy machines, but many others won't. There are still DOS machines being used to generate billing statements here and there, for pete's sake. Of course, it could be argued that a business with dwindling profits on sales to a dwindling market (and whose attempts at muscling its way into new markets have been consistent failures) should be valuated very conservatively. So if the "end is near," it's only the end of MSFT's position as a stock market darling. Not the end of its annoying survival. Dave