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Strategies & Market Trends : Market Gems:Stocks w/Strong Earnings and High Tech. Rank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jerry Olson who wrote (6473)	3/24/1998 5:48:00 PM
From: Jenna	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 120523

Jerry...I know about the retracement you are right. Stocks that beat the street big time are almost always buys after their first retreat. I missed TKLC,LBOR and AEOS today because I was into a lot of other stuff, but study these. They are classic examples of how stocks that beat big go on and on ... and on... and on.....

To: Jerry Olson who wrote (6473)	3/24/1998 11:08:00 PM
From: Teddy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 120523

Did anyone listen to the MSFT CC? I got the impression they were trying to lower future expectations. Could someone else listen to the replay? A replay of the conference call, available until March 26 at 6 p.m. PST, can be accessed by calling 888-566-0511 in the United States (passcode 1017). International callers should call 402-280-1616 (passcode 1017). Are they always that conservetive? Here's the what The Wall Street Urinal has to say about it: Microsoft CFO Sees 3Q Somewhat Better Than Expected BUENA PARK, Calif. (Dow Jones)--Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) business is "somewhat better than expected" as it heads into the final week of its fiscal third quarter, Chief Financial Officer Greg Maffei said. For the third quarter ending March 31, Microsoft expects to post net income about 4 cents higher than the First Call consensus of 44 cents a share, Maffei said in a conferenece call. Revenue will rise about 17%-18% from last year's $3.2 billion, Maffei said. But he warned that the comparisons will be tougher as 1998 progresses. In fact, the third quarter may end up being the best quarter in absolute terms in calendar 1998, Maffei said. "Growth is slowing," Maffei said. In the year-ago third quarter, net income was $1.04 billion, or 79 cents a share, before accounting for a two-for-one stock split in February. Maffei singled out the Office product line and European region as standouts for the quarter, but said business was strong across all product lines and geographic regions except Asia, which remains weak. However, he warned that Office comparisons will be tougher as the year progresses, and warned analysts not to raise their earnings estimates based on this preannouncement. Microsft Chief Financial Officer Maffei said the expected 30% increase in net income for the third quarter is likely to be the highest in all of calendar 1998 for Microsoft. In the fourth quarter, he told analysts they could add "a few pennies" to the consensus fourth quarter estimate of 43 cents a share, but "I still believe there will be a drop" from the third quarter, Maffei said. Microsoft depends a lot on Office 97 for its revenue growth, Maffei said. As Office 97 growth slows down between now and the release of its successor, Office 99, the upward trajectory of another fast-growing Microsoft product, Windows NT, won't be enough to make up for it, he said. No release date has been scheduled for Office 99. Windows NT 5.0 is scheduled for release in a test version this summer, with final release sometime in 1999. This product will be a major growth driver, but its impact won't be dramatic right away, Maffei said. Another key release, Windows 98, is set to be launched June 25. It not expected to generate the demand for retail upgrades that Windows 95 did, Maffei said. Despite the cautious outlook, Maffei said Microsoft has seen no drop-off in business from personal-computer makers who install the Windows operating systems. These companies have been struggling through inventory build-ups and price cutting. "PC demand was neither a plus or a minus" in the third quarter, Maffei said. Maffei also said a stabilization of exchange rates for Asian currencies has softened the blow from that region's weakness. Maffei said Microsoft held the call because of investor inquiries about the health of the PC market and the software business in general. "They have been pretty cautious and I think this was done solely to be informative and preserve their credibility" with investors, said Rick Sherlund, a Goldman Sachs analyst. "They have a strong interest in getting the correct message out on how business is doing." Maffei said Microsoft's price-earnings ratio remains so high that the company didn't buy back any stock this quarter. Normally, the company has a huge appetite for buybacks because it issues so many options to its employees.