[Am-info] Fool's selling Microsoft stock

[Sujal Shah]

On Tue, 2002-08-06 at 07:13, John J. Urbaniak wrote:
> As I posted here last week, for FY 2001, Microsoft overstated the company's
> profits by 45% or about 2.5 BILLION dollars due to stock options.  No wonder the
> Motley Fool dumped them.
> 
> First will come the employee's lawsuits, then the shareholder's lawsuits, then
> Microsoft's cash hoard will be gone.

I think you underestimate how much 40 billion dollars truly is.  I can't
imagine any pair of class action suits that would even approach 10
billion, let alone 40 billion. 

Does anyone know what the largest civil settlement ever is?

Sujal


> 
> John
> 
> 
> 
> Joe Moore wrote:
> 
> > Microsoft (MSFT) is being removed from The Motley Fool's "rule-maker"
> > portfolio of companies.
> >
> > http://www.fool.com/portfolios/RuleMaker/2002/rulemaker020731.htm
> >
> > Interesting reasons:
> > > It all comes down to an issue of character. In this case the company has
> > > failed to maintain the best interests of outside shareowners. By declining
> > > to show true leadership on the stock option expensing issue -- which
> > > management claims to agree with -- Microsoft no longer meets the criteria
> > > of a Rule Maker company.
> >
> > -------
> > > We've known for years that Microsoft was a serial user of various accounting
> > > tricks to "groom" earnings, including delaying revenues for use in later
> > > quarters.
> >
> > ------
> > > Microsoft had the opportunity to show true leadership, and it declined.
> >
> > --Joe
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