Comparing Google (GOOG) to another technology company like Amazon can cause a great deal of confusion for a finance professional. Google does a fair job at adhering to the basic tenants of finance compared to Amazon, a company with seemingly no regard for financial principals. Still, somehow, Google is treated like an old shoe compared to Amazon. What gives?
We found both good signs and bad signs but, overall, there is huge room for improvement. If Microsoft took our advice, it could revive some of its lost luster and improve its stockholder value.
Yahoo! might be running out of zip but I would not count it out of the race yet. Yahoo! still has financial resources and the ability to wring more cash flow out of its working capital. This company is still able to change course and become a force to reckon with again … but time […]
“Surprise, surprise!” as Private Gomer Pyle use to say. We knew, even before this pre-IPO analysis, that Facebook was bound to disappoint. Between their terrible implementation of critical financial concepts, an extremely inflated valuation, and too much hype over substance for too long, this was the killer trifecta. Online social interaction is an impressive thing […]
Often a prospective client will ask how I can help him or her reduce risk and increase sustainable cash flow if I don’t know the ins and outs of their particular type of business. It’s a good question, but focuses on the wrong issues. Business is business no matter what you make or sell, and […]
Recently, I read that a large, publicly traded clothing retailer was reducing prices in order to show a slim 5% revenue increase. In other words, the price reduction stimulated revenue growth by +5% while lowering the gross profit margin by -15%. This tells me that revenue increase is more important to this firm than gross […]