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Technology Stocks : Network Associates (NET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Chuzzlewit who wrote (3943)	1/6/1999 1:41:00 PM
From: Chris Anderson	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 6021

Well everyone, the good news is that NETA has calmed down and is trading well off of the day's lows. I think the company is playing this fiasco well be painting a positive picture of the future, earnings up, etc. Perhaps there will be some institutional support from all of the brokerages with "buy" ratings on this stock: biz.yahoo.com The pessimistic side of me, however, worries about possible future write-offs. $220 mil over 5 years is $44 mil per year. If this is plowed straight into the bottom line, I think NETA's future EPS could drop by up to 15%. Anyone out there with an accounting background that could help us better assess the impact of these potential write-offs? Thanks! Chris p.s. Joanna, good luck on your house. I went through the same thing about a year ago. Dis something stupid, though. Signed the papers on the house and stayed in the market and watched it tumble! I was lucky to be able to close on the house once it was built and have some stock money left over!

To: Chuzzlewit who wrote (3943)	1/6/1999 1:44:00 PM
From: Joanna Tsang	Respond to of 6021

Thank you ma'am! Actually, this is one of my two bete noires - the other one being the use of employe stock options in lieu of salaries. Don't remind me!!! You would be surprised how many times I'm faced with this scenario: Hiring Mgr.: Joanna. We like to extend this job offer to you. at <blah> salary and <blah> stock options. Joanna: (Thinks about the job offer...they almost always give the offer over the phone...) I'm sorry sir. I can't take this offer. The salary is too low! Hiring Mgr.: But look at the stock options!!! You can get rich when this company goes public. Joanna: Yes, but it wouldn't matter if I can't pay my bills!!! :-) The problem is that just about every tech company uses this gimmick. Why is it a gimmick? Because it allows the company to avoid showing the "expense" on its income statement. You can only ferret this stuff out by examining the statement of shareholder equity, and even there the cost isn't stated. Yes. And there's more. When I do the math for stock options, I make an assumption that at most stocks are worth $20-30 a share. Given that and the quarterly vested thing, you really don't "get rich" in your stocks. In some cases, it's better to stay at your current job than to go to a new company!!! So...there's the high tech business game!!! Now I'm trying to figure out a way to outsmart the system...getting there! Cheers, Joanna