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Mix-Ansicht- Wie pusht man den Gewinn/Aktie? Bauernschläue bei AMZN - kingsolomon, 08.11.2002, 18:15
Wie pusht man den Gewinn/Aktie? Bauernschläue bei AMZN
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man reduziert einfach die Zahl der dem EPS zugrundeliegenden Aktien...
ohne komplizierte und teure Aktienrückkäufe wie z.B. bei IBM
John Crudele, NY POST
November 7, 2002 -- HOW many shares does Amazon.com really have outstanding?
In both a press release and a phone call to me, the company claims the number is 430 million as of Sept. 30. In case you care, that's"a decrease of 2 percent compared with a year ago."
But in this day when the word"transparency" has taken on almost divine qualities on Wall Street, the company seems to have analysts in a bit of a fog.
Bear Stearns, for instance, had the number at 398.4 million in a report issued Oct. 25. So do RBC Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank, WR Hambrecht and Morgan Stanley.
But Soundview Financial thinks the right number is 375.1 million shares, and Prudential Securities is at 380.5 million. Legg Mason likes the figure 379.6 million.
Didn't Amazon say 430 million?
Well, yes and no.
The company gave that as the number of outstanding shares in the text of a press release that accompanied its recent earnings report. But in calculating its third quarter, ended Sept. 30, Amazon says the figure of 379.65 million was"used in computation of basic and diluted loss per share."
So, what's the real answer - 379.65 million? 430 million? 398.4 million? Or should investors just plug in tonight's Lotto numbers for the answer?
Don't think I'm just picking nits off Amazon's unprofitable hide. Wall Street and companies like Amazon play a sophisticated game of guess the earnings per share. And a few million shares here and there can make all the difference.
The game just doesn't work unless analysts (not to mention the folks who invest in companies like these) know the precise basis on which earnings per share are calculated - meaning they gotta know the correct number of outstanding shares.
I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this, but I am still waiting to hear it from Amazon.
Oh, and - while I'm ragging on Amazon, some investors would also like the company to separate revenues derived from the sale of used things like books from those coming from new products.
New stuff has a much higher cost, and produces less profit for Amazon than does old stuff, which takes Amazon closer to the eBay business model.
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