"Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., IBM chairman and chief executive officer, said: "It was a decidedly mixed quarter. On the negative side, we saw a Y2K slowdown toward the end of the quarter, particularly in our large servers, and to a lesser extent in services and operating systems software. Additionally, we were hurt by shortages of flat-panel displays, margin pressure in our hard disk drive business, and sales disruptions related to our sale of certain networking hardware assets ..."

"Looking forward, we believe we will continue to feel the effects of the Y2K slowdown in the fourth quarter and into early next year," Mr. Gerstner said. "However, even though it is difficult to make predictions, next year has the potential to be a very good year for IBM, once we get past any lingering Y2K effects ..." http://www.ibm.com/investor/3q99earnings.phtml

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), October 20, 1999

Answers

Wednesday October 20, 4:32 pm Eastern Time

NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Technology bellwether International Business Machines Corp. on Wednesday posted third-quarter earnings of 93 cents per share that beat the average Wall Street estimate of 90 cents per share, according to research firm First Call/Thomson Financial:

Revenues were expected to be $21.7 billion, according to First Call/Thomson. IBM reported sales of $21.2 billion.

The following are analysts comments:

BILL MILTON, COMPUTER ANALYST AT BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.

``We're going to get some rough sledding here with revenues being lighter than expected and the Y2K problem hurting the fourth quarter.''

``It seems like they're talking down the fourth quarter.''

DAN NILES, ANALYST WITH BANC BOSTON ROBERTSON STEPHENS

``This is even uglier than I expected. This is not IBM specific, it's an industrywide problem and they're finally admitting that they have issues. We're going to have to take our numbers down. This is what we were looking for.''

``I thought they would squeak through on the third quarter.''

``They said they're blowing the fourth quarter even worse than I had expected.''

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/991020/zb.html

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), October 20, 1999.

When the biggest of the blue chips starts talking Y2K woes, watch out. This may just (as Cory so elequently says)get the herd sniffing, and they may just start running for the door.

I had hoped it would hold together a little longer, don't want to fight joe-sixpack for the remaining things I need.

Boy, just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, eh pollies? Last after hours quote is 107 at 5:00 est, down 6 from the high on the NYSE.

-- Bill (bill@tinfoil.com), October 20, 1999.

When maybe 50% of corporations start placing freezes on the purchase of new computer hardware and software, an IBM will definitely feel the pinch. There may or may not be a mad scramble after rollover (maybe by 2d quarter 2000) to make up for lost time. IBM certainly hopes so.

Other suppliers in the computer industry are feeling these freezes as well.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), October 20, 1999.

http://adforce.imgis.com/?adiframe|2.0|44|53049|1|1|KEY=Y2K;

01:30p

IBM cites Y2K slowdown

IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) on Wednesday posted third-quarter earnings of 93 cents per share that beat Wall Street estimates by several cents. But CEO Lou Gerstner said the results were "decidedly mixed," and noted a business slowdown stemming from Y2k issues. Story to follow. - -Sean Silverthorne, ZDNet News

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Y2KOK.ORG), October 20, 1999.

Yet here we had "Mister Softee" (Microsoft) talking today about awesome PC sales and blue skies and green lights. Earnings look good and their stock (and the tech-heavy Nasdaq) goes up like a rocket.

IBM, on the other hand, talks straight about Y2K concerns and gets hammered. As has been pointed out frequently, there are significant sanctions if a company expresses concerns about Y2K and almost no upside, so the tendency is to at a minimum soft-pedal. If IBM is coming out this strongly, they must really be worried.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), October 20, 1999.

* * * 19991020 Wednesday

ROFLMAO!!!! ...

_"D.Niles"_ -- What an appropriate name for a bankster representative!

I must be getting Y2K-giddy!

The ttennnnssssiiioooonnnnn is mounting ...

Regards, Bob Mangus

* * *

-- Robert Mangus (rmangus1@yahoo.com), October 20, 1999.

Of course the spin can change as the fix goes in and there is the simple sin of omission. No mention here of problems in a later release.

link

-- Mike Lang (webflier@erols.com), October 20, 1999.

WOW - They *fixed* it.

And it DIDN'T even take THREE days

There, there, all better now.

Back to sleeeeeeep.

-- Greg (balzer@lanset.com), October 20, 1999.

Mike -

That story is about IBM Credit, not the parent. It does make a glancing reference to Big Blue, but the news item deals primarily with IBM Credit's 3Q results.

Watch tomorrow AM. Those analysts were quite serious about "taking down" the numbers.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), October 21, 1999.

If the futures have anything to do with it, will be a rocky opening.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange

GLOBEX PRICES AS OF 10/20/99 11:25 PM TRADE DATE: 10/21/99

CONTRACT LAST NET CHGE S&P 500 DEC99 1284.70 -780

E-MINI DEC99 1284.50 -800

MAR00 1300.00 -875

NSDQ100 DEC99 2444.00 -2700

E-NASDAQ DEC99 2444.00 -2700

-- Bill (bill@tinfoil.com), October 21, 1999.

PAGING THE PLUNGE PROTECTION TEAM!! PAGING THE PLUNGE PROTECTION TEAM!! PAGING THE PLUNGE PROTECTION TEAM!!

Open down 200, now dowh 161 @ 1000 am

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), October 21, 1999.

What you really need to know --

TO DO LAUNDRY IN THE YEAR 2000

Buy a squeaky-clean new toilet PLUNGER (not the black rubber)
Have a deep wide bucket
Have LIQUID laundry detergent
Put soiled clothes in bucket
Heat water on sterno/alt.stove
Add heated water & liquid detergent, apply plunger vigorously
Rinse, squeeze, line dry

THE BOTTOM LINE

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 21, 1999.

It's going down for good this time. The PTB won't be able to contain the mess any longer. This is what we've been waiting for.

-- (brett@miklos.org), October 21, 1999.

Hhmmm, well, we still don't want it to happen :_(

We're Doomers but would love to be Pollys by factual evidence.
Not likely ... waiting for a miracle ... but prepping for reality

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 21, 1999.

Hhmmm, well, we still don't want it to happen :_(

No, but we've been expecting it and preparing for it and now it is finally here. It's great to be prepared, isn't it?

-- (brett@miklos.org), October 21, 1999.

Yes, but there's never enough TP. Been reading about the shelf-raiding frenzy in Hawaii over on csy2k. Gotta go to CostCo again.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 21, 1999.

Better go quick!! The panic is beginning!!!!

-- (brett@miklos.org), October 21, 1999.

No, brett, if the stock market absolutely nosedives, it is going to hurt everyone big time. The best of all worlds would be a graceful correction over time.

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), October 21, 1999.

No, brett, if the stock market absolutely nosedives, it is going to hurt everyone big time.

Obviously. But since we're prepared, it will hurt a lot less!!

-- (brett@miklos.org), October 21, 1999.

IBM's "Dope Slap"

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - International Business Machines Corp. reported higher third-quarter profits Wednesday, but the results were overshadowed by a warning that fourth-quarter and fiscal 2000 first-quarter results will fall well below analysts' estimates.

News of the profit shortfall, which IBM attributed to Year-2000 concerns, sent shares of Big Blue tumbling more than 10 points in after-hours trade and likely will send the markets reeling when trading begins Thursday.

"It's a disaster," said Dan Niles, technology analyst at BancBoston Robertson Stephens. "They told us three months ago that Y2K isn't going to have any effect on them at all. They miss this quarter, now they're saying the next quarter is going to be even worse and that the first quarter will have even more losses.

BancBoston's Dan Niles, who previously downgraded his rating on IBM's stock to "long-term attractive," said the company should not have been taken by surprise by a Y2K-related slowdown.

=====================

Then, Dan had this to say....

BancBoston's Dan Niles, who previously downgraded his rating on Pollyannas from intentionally ignorant to invincibly ignorant ," said those morons should not have been taken by surprise by Y2K. '

LOL LOL

"Taken by surprise' ? Huh? Say what?? All those ' hard working professionals' at IBM were "taken by surprise'? You mean that they could not see what was happening to their company right in front of their noses? And you expect them to understand what is happening to their IT systems AND tell the truth about it which would devastate their stock price?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAAHAHA!!

The calculated stupidity of pollyannas is so laughably funny as to make me choke. All along I have said that they CAN NOT be trusted to tell the truth where their stock price is concerned , and that has been proven true in SPADES. They lied their asses off or they are clueless idiots. Neither of those two choices is particularly tasty . It's all about money. If it would seriously affect their bottom line, they will NOT tell the truth in a forthright and honest fashion. They will hem, haw, hedge and spin. But, they will not say anything that will 'correct' their stock.

And they are lying about their remediation results as well.

Won't be long now. So long suckers.

http://cnnfn.com/1999/10/20/news/ibm/
--
Paul Milne

-----------------------------------------------------

IBM About To Be The Bloodbath Leader

Yup, the lying scumbags told everyone that Y2k would have NO effect on them. Nope, none at all. And guess, what? They lied their asses off and all you ignorant stockholders believed them. And now, quarter after quarter is going to show DISASTROUS results.

So their 'self-assessment' as to their profits was completely FUBAR.

And all you ASSININE Polyannas believe that their Y2K 'self-assessment' is to be treated as if it is 'accurate'?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH!

I say again....

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Just like I have repeatedly admonished right from the beginning....

It is all going to come out and pollyannas are going to doing a great big collective 'Dope Slap'.

If they did not tell the truth about how Y2k affected their bottom line, they have NOT told the truth about how Y2K wil affect them in the business world because that is ALL ABOUT THEIR BOTTOM LINE. It is their ULTRIMATE bottom line. They have lied through their teeth. They have been caught.

We're VEWWWY VEWWWY cwose now. Hehehehehehehehe

Watch the very likely beating that the DOW takes tommorrow and Friday.
--
Paul Milne
------------------------------------------------------------------

Crash And Burn Time

IBM made their earnings announcement AFTER the market closed today... Guess why?

=====================

Wednesday October 20, 4:32 pm Eastern Time
NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters)

BILL MILTON, COMPUTER ANALYST AT BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.

``We're going to get some rough sledding here with revenues being lighter than expected and the Y2K problem hurting the fourth quarter.''

``It seems like they're talking down the fourth quarter.''

DAN NILES, ANALYST WITH BANC BOSTON ROBERTSON STEPHENS

``This is even uglier than I expected. This is not IBM specific, it's an industrywide problem and they're finally admitting that they have issues. We're going to have to take our numbers down. This is what we were looking for.''

``I thought they would squeak through on the third quarter.''

``They said they're blowing the fourth quarter even worse than I had expected.''

================================

What does "This is even uglier than I expected' mean? Or, "...even worse than I had expected"?

The ONLY thing that has been holding the market up is the Blue Chips. The overwhelming majority of the rest of stocks are down on the year. Only the die-hard fanatic ignorami clinging to wildly overvalued stocks keep this bloated market alive.

It is suicide to 'buy and hold' now just like it was in 1929.

It is almost crash and burn time.

All aboard, ignorami.
There are still a few tickets on the flaming death train to Club Dead.

So long suckers.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/991020/zb.html
--
Paul Milne
----------------------------------------------------------

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 21, 1999.

Thanks, A&L, this is great stuff. "So long suckers." LOL LOL!!!

-- (brett@miklos.org), October 21, 1999.