Monday, November 16, 2009

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Signals

ITW (ITW) Illinois Tool Works knows how to finesse their earnings release. First the board of directors declares a dividend on Friday Oct 30, 2009. Then on Monday Nov 16, 2009 they release earnings which show an operating revenue decrease of some 18%. The press release is Reg FD challenged as it did not include classic financial information. The investor needs to search around and go to regulatory filings. The earnings release contains nothing from management by way of comment. They do provide a chart showing the percentage decline by business line. They have all tanked. This is not a company that is used to explaining itself and it shows. The reality is that they see more bad news and need cover.