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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Lloyd who wrote (174663)	5/20/2003 4:48:48 PM
From: Stock Farmer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Some of these things represent expenses to the company and some do not. It is an open question as to what general set of rules could be applied to the contents of each envelope to distinguish one from the other. Assume that some such set of rules could be established. Who cares? How do you know it's fall? By applying some set of rules to every leaf on every tree? Assuming that some such set of rules could be established, it would still be a waste of time. Would you have us trace every single water drop in order to determine the characteristics of a waterfall? Some things are more easily observable in the macro effect than by following the minutia. Same with stock options. We can see what they cost on aggregate, it is not necessary to trace each and every single one. And indeed, the chaotic effects and circumstances which surround each option holder end up being different. Yet for some strange reason, the aggregate pattern lends itself to reasonable approximation. Let's not try to get too abstract here Don. The actions of the company in distributing stock options result in reduction of shareholders' wealth. This is a 'cost'. An offset against profit. Which is what matters, to shareholders, in the end. And if you refuse to see the forest for the leaves on the trees, that's your problem. John