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 : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (50449)	2/28/1999 11:30:00 AM
From: rupert1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

el: >>>Mason answered a question about how the quarter was going. He said it was slow in the first six weeks, had picked up in February and looked strong for March.<<< when did he make this comment??? This is my composite sentence summarising the information gleaned from several of the analysts reports posted here by Aitch. The impression was given early on Friday that EP had spoken to one analyst, namely, Credit Suisse and ML and other analysts had simply used the CS report as the basis for their reports. That worried me - that CPQ should make such an important "announcement" to one brokerage house and that all the other analysts were working on a second-hand report. Your conversation with the IR lady seemed also to confirm that that is what might have happened. However, when Aitch posted his reports on Saturday morning I noticed that one analyst explained that a group of analysts had visited Houston. (I am assuming by "group" he does not mean one brokerage house). There were other references to suggest that other analysts had spoken to the company. One of the analysts and possibly two actually say that the information was given by Mason in response to a question on Thursday. Another analyst or report explicitly states that CPQ had not made an anouncement and had not taken back its statement that it was comfortable with analysts expectations for the quarter. Another stressed that the CPQ response was conditional - i.e. that it was not clear that there would be any shortfall in revenues, but that the issues raised may lead to a shortfall of 3 cents per share in earnings. I say "analysts" and it may be that some of the information came from the various media reports that were flooding in on Friday night or Saturday morning. Didn't Dan Niles state in his CC that he had spoken to the company on Friday morning? I would appreciate if others would look over the same sources and confirm or otherwise what my impression is.

To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (50449)	2/28/1999 11:41:00 AM
From: hlpinout	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

El, this is from post 50195 But Compaq spokesman Jim Finlaw denied that weak sales of commercial PCs during the first six weeks of 1999 had spurred an industry oversupply glut. ''Inventory is doing well,'' he said. ''We saw slow demand in North and Europe,'' Finlaw said of January sales. This was partially offset by what he said was strong demand in the Asia-Pacific region, including China and Japan, and ''okay'' demand in Latin America. The spokesman was relating comments Compaq Chief Financial Officer Earl Mason first made Thursday in response to a question from a group of investors visiting the company's Houston headquarters. Mike Kwatinetz, a CS First Boston analyst who was among the group visiting Compaq Thursday had said in a research note published Friday that weak demand among Compaq's network of PC distributors may be a factor in the recent soft PC sales. He wrote: ''Since Compaq appears to have had a shortfall in January, the question arises: ''How is the industry doing?'' In retrospect, Dell and HP's slight revenue shortfalls may have been more of an industry issue than we previously believed.''

To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (50449)	2/28/1999 11:52:00 AM
From: Kenya AA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

El: I'm so glad you "called" victor on that comment. victor seems to have a bad habit of "molding" what what others say, do and think to fit his own view. Occasionally, he'll mention that what he has written is his opinion, but I've noticed that it's with a lot less frequency lately. This latest example goes a way too far, IMO .... This is my composite sentence summarising the information gleaned from several of the analysts reports posted here by Aitch. K