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Technology Stocks : IDTI - an IC Play on Growth Markets -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hippieslayer who wrote (4763)	11/16/1997 11:55:00 PM
From: Darrell D. Conrade	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 11555

We have all been waiting for the sales information regarding the C6. I thought it might be interesting to look at the revenue trends experienced by Cyrix and AMD following the introduction of their latest generation of microprocessors. I was hoping to see a pattern of how long it took for significant revenues to develop after the products were introduced. I do not have a technology background, so this type of information is new to me. One thing I was surprised to learn was that Cyrix and AMD have been in the microprocessor business for some time. Cyrix = 1992 - 386 & 486; May `95 - 6x86 MX; Feb. `97 - Media GX AMD = 1992 - 386; 1993 - 486; Spring `96 - K-5; Feb. `97 - K-6 The earlier generations had limited acceptance. From what I could determine, Intel was simply too far ahead with their new product introductions for Cyrix and AMD to get a foothold. That seemed to change dramatically with the Media GX and K-6. These processors were of equal or superior performance at a better price. The market acceptance was quick and significant. For Cyrix, revenue for the quarter ending Sept., `96 was 33.1 million. For the quarter ending Sept., `97 revenue was 93.1 million. AMD had revenue of 456.9 million for the Sept., `96 quarter and 596.6 million for the Sept., `97 quarter. AMD sold approximately 1 million processors in the Sept. `97 quarter and this number is expected to double for the quarter ending Dec., `97. Based upon this information, it would seem that IDTI should find a market that is willing to consider their product. It should not be too early to see significant revenues already inthe quarter ending Dec., `97. There was one thing that was troubling. Neither Cyrix nor AMD have been able to make any money. For the quarter ending Sept., 97 Cyrix lost .04 a share and AMD lost .22 a share. For those of you who are tech oriented, I have the following questions: a. What type of advantage does Cyrix and AMD have over IDT since they have been making processors since 1992? b. Why do companies like Dell, Gateway, Compaq, etc. have better earnings than the companies who make the parts? I have never been able to understand why the companies that just stick parts in a box are more profitable than the companies who are really doing the high tech work of developing the chips, hard drives, etc. Just some things to consider while we wait for the next quarter's results. Darrell Conrade

To: Hippieslayer who wrote (4763)	11/17/1997 11:52:00 AM
From: Rob S.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11555

You got it. IDT/Centaur have the "right chip at the wrong time" as far as great exposure at Comdex is concerned. The sub $1,000 consumer PC market is booming and the sub $750 "managed corporate PC" market is just picking up a head of steam. These markets should be very atractive to the C6. However, IDT has yet to ramp the C6 into worthwhile production or gain the industry recognition it needs to gain a favorable spotlight at Comdex. IDT's marketing is also engineering sales centric, lackluster and unprepared for a broad microprocesor push. Having said that, this is not much of a disappointment but merely needs to be pointed out to investors who might be expecting IDT to suddenly capture widespread recognition based solely on the technical merits of the C6 design. I did not expect IDT to gain much of a spotlight at Comdex - just too little and too late to the party. Where does Comdex, the evolving markets and IDTs position leave things? IDT still needs to do the basic things to be successful, get the C6 ramped up into large scale production and get it designed into new products. By the first half of next year, IDT needs to have the parts into 0.25 micron fabrication to further reduce power consumption, increase speed and reduce cost. They need to be prepared to sell the current C6 for about $65 in the 200 MHz grade by the 2nd quarter of next year. When the C6 is shrunk to 0.25 micron, it should be able to be manufactured for less than $25. That gives IDT an excellent opportunity to sell below competitors and be very attractive for sub $1,000, laptop applications and the Pentium upgrade market. Perham, IDT management - "Show Me (investors) the Money!"