tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175432802024-03-08T07:44:11.407-05:00Financial SkepticAccentuating the caveat emptor perspective with critical commentary on financial disclosure. I adopt a skeptical persona and look for chinks in the teflon coating of financial disclosure. My job is to identify financial warts. Perhaps a Black Swan.
Disclosure: I do not hold positions in stocks mentioned for three trading days before or after blog post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comBlogger1402125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-39634796300652956462010-09-15T13:37:00.001-04:002010-09-15T13:39:24.234-04:00IBM Trash Talks Hewlett PackardIBM (IBM) trash talked Hewlett Packard (HPQ) go to www.financialskeptic.wordpress.com to see my postFinancial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-18292191144486831632010-09-10T12:32:00.001-04:002010-09-10T12:33:47.174-04:00Nasdaq Draws Criticism from AsensioPlease see my latest post at http://financialskeptic.wordpress.comFinancial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-1948096593975284282010-09-09T14:00:00.001-04:002010-09-09T14:01:45.605-04:00Cienna Sluggish Balance SheetPlease see my post on Cienna's sluggish balance sheet at www.financialskeptic.wordpress.comFinancial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-90879487650470880322010-09-07T11:12:00.001-04:002010-09-07T11:13:44.268-04:00Oracle Ensnares Mark HurdPlease read my post about Oracle (ORCL)and Mark Hurd at www.financialskeptic.wordpress.comFinancial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-82407616916249394682010-09-03T13:50:00.001-04:002010-09-03T13:51:24.111-04:00Burger King Latin Preferences?Please read my Burger King (BKC) post on www.financialskeptic.wordpress.comFinancial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-77386555882617886042010-09-01T14:34:00.001-04:002010-09-01T14:36:38.633-04:00Dollar Thrifty Clarity Issues in GuidanceDollar Thrifty (DTG) has some clarity is issues in its latest guidance. Please read my comments on www.financialskeptic.wordpress.comFinancial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-72283645831196269042010-08-31T12:42:00.002-04:002010-08-31T12:43:09.567-04:00Monsanto Communications FailurePlease see my comments on Monsanto (MON) at www.financialskeptic.wordpress.comFinancial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-17084653124818779602010-08-30T12:47:00.003-04:002010-08-30T12:51:07.721-04:00Benihana Long Long Road AheadGo to www.financialskeptic.wordpress.com for todays post on Benihana (BNHN)Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-46045704252623318222010-08-27T13:13:00.001-04:002010-08-27T13:14:52.118-04:00Tiffany Commodity Play Not RetailGo to www.financialskeptic.wordpress.com for complete detailsFinancial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-13659102667205852162010-08-26T14:33:00.001-04:002010-08-26T14:34:41.080-04:00Financial Skeptic on Word PressI am in the process of transitioning to Word Press. So here is the link.<br /><br />www.financialskeptic.wordpress.comFinancial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-77556352148031349602010-08-26T14:25:00.001-04:002010-08-26T14:25:51.254-04:00Gerber Increased OverheadsGerber Scientific (GRB) fails to provide substantive comment or MD&A about any of its four major divisions. They have consolidated the numbers and its all in one bowl of soup. Specifically they do not segment or discuss R&D. For a scientific company this is more important than guidance for the next few quarters. They do comment about the increase in SG&A claiming that they are reversing some wage freezes and paying out more in commissions. That’s great guy’s you just increased your over heads.<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-50428233615099047732010-08-25T13:16:00.001-04:002010-08-25T13:16:33.078-04:00Brown Shoe Inventory RiskBrown Shoe(BWS) neglects to point out that it’s increased inventory level is equal to the last quarters sales. They trumpet improved sales and revenues and then increase inventories by 10%. If the consumer continues to not buy they cannot cover the bet. When will we see better thinking on inventory. <br /> <br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-64349840293473510072010-08-24T15:06:00.001-04:002010-08-24T15:06:57.564-04:00Burger King Pulls Its PunchesBurger King (BKC) missed the point in its latest earnings release. They have over 12,000 restaurants with a near 90% franchise rate. Yet in the press release they report 249 net new restaurants, 79 refranchised restaurants, 54 re-imaged restaurants. These are pathetically small numbers. At the same time they report strong cash and balance sheets. The question becomes are they pulling their punches or do they really not have the capital and cash flow to do the job properly.<br /> <br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-3591650568108290472010-08-19T12:58:00.000-04:002010-08-19T12:59:52.982-04:00Lenovo -- More Info Please!Lenovo (ADR:LNVGY) left shareholders hanging for more financial details as they announced huge consolidated sales and net profit increases. They neglected to include a balance sheet with the earnings release but made the very big point that they now have net cash reserves of USD $2.2 billion. When you say net that means you have debt somewhere but no explaining on that point.<br /><br />No breakdown provided on geographic sales. If you claim to be a global player you need to present global numbers. Hard to come to firm conclusions when there is too much fog on the landscape.<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-44329044651510552252010-08-18T13:39:00.000-04:002010-08-18T13:40:26.671-04:00Deere No Balance Sheet in the HeadlightsDeere (DE) left out the balance sheet when they reported boomer numbers for Q3. Everything was about the income statement and how large equipment was selling. For investors to develop an accurate assessment you need to include all the financial statements. The earnings release leaves it out. Surely it was included somewhere else making it more difficult for investors to find and assess. Not investor friendly.<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-46691614925526451392010-08-17T13:36:00.001-04:002010-08-17T13:36:56.781-04:00Home Depot Abandons Press ReleaseHome Depot (HD) abandoned the earnings release in all but name. The press release that came out today contained very little qualitative information that an investor would find useful. For a large cap stock this is shameful. I can only assume that the good stuff was included in the conference call. The press release has been castrated and management wants to deal with information in the conference call where they feel that have better control over analysts and can manage the public portion of their messages.<br /><br />Open question to the board. If the CFO came to you with only this press release would you feel comfortable coming to the qualitative decisions that you are paid for. Then why should the investor.<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-70854434120289814252010-08-16T13:37:00.000-04:002010-08-16T13:38:16.337-04:00ITW Talk to Me BabyITW (ITW) issued an abbreviated earnings release which I am not sure meets Reg FD standards. No income statement, balance sheet or sources and uses of cash were included. They threw in a few points about sales and revenue gains and called it an earnings release. No management discussion of anything meaningful. Ten days ago they increased the dividend by 10% citing strong free cash flow. <br /><br />Talk to me baby. Say something an investor would understand. Anything for a start.<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-34852762931924122382010-08-13T14:04:00.001-04:002010-08-13T14:04:45.330-04:00JCPenney Tops Up Pension PlanJCPenney (JCP) reported some interested pension plan contributions. On the income statement they show Q2 contributions of $55 million to something called qualified pension plans. In the notes they claim to have made a voluntary contribution of $392 million to the qualified pension plan. The earnings release then goes silent on the financial engineering. Net income for q2 was $14 million. Would have been nice to get more detail and transparency.<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-37841247868744764212010-08-12T12:45:00.000-04:002010-08-12T12:46:19.688-04:00Kohl's Spends Profits on Infrastructure?Kohl’s (KSS) spent their net profits on something called property, equipment and favourable lease rights. No discussion in the earnings release about merchandising, product mix, improving margins or store openings and closings. But then numbers do not lie and they spent shareholder profits on what seems to be the infrastructure. <br /><br />Management is not very forthcoming in the earnings release.<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-23162052983953617942010-08-11T14:02:00.000-04:002010-08-11T14:03:14.952-04:00Macy's: Torn Silver LiningMacy’s (M) is leaning on its merchandise payables as it navigates debt repayment. Sure results are improved including huge on line increases. But merchandise payables is up some $400 million, inventories seem flat for the past six months, cash is down for the past six months and we are looking at an inventory build as we enter the back to school and Christmas selling seasons. <br /><br />Is this the rip in the silver lining?<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-15695213313829060272010-08-10T13:18:00.000-04:002010-08-10T13:19:02.420-04:00Alibaba.com Achilles Heel?Alibaba.com (HKSA:1688) may have shown it’s Achilles heel. They announced stellar results showing that international customers grew much faster than internal Chinese customers. Check out the Ali-Loan program and this quote “The Ali-Loan program continued to gain traction since it was launched in 2008. As of June 30, 2010, the cumulative number of loans issued by our partner banks to our paying members was more than 5,500, totally amounted to RMB13 billion (US$1.9 billion). The program has catered to the financial needs of small businesses while also increasing our member’s stickiness to our platforms. It brings long-term benefit to the company although it does not serve as a revenue driver. “<br /><br />No explanation of what is being financed and how. Member banks are not captive finance companies so how do you control the flow of credit. Admittedly they are not experiencing revenues from the program directly. But if they act as an acquisitions marketing agent for other banks why are they not being compensated for the referrals? How do they manage who are member banks and who gets the deal flow?<br /><br />They have hit USD of $1.9 billion over 5,500 loans. That is an average of $345,000 per loan. So what is being financed and how?<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-56139416407033022392010-08-09T08:04:00.001-04:002010-08-09T08:04:31.844-04:00Chrysler Quiet on Gov't LiquidityChrysler (Fiat:FIA) slipped out some massaged messages on its liquidity. In the headline bullets Chrysler reported flat out they have $10 Billion of liquidity. Its only later deep in the earnings release that investors realize that liquidity from the market place is only $7.4 Billion. The remaining $2.6 Billion is a reliance on government support from the US Treasury, Canada and Ontario. Not a peep about when they will stop relying on the support and actually cut the apron strings. Not a peep about the terms of market place liquidity. How much of it is truly co-dependent? You know how brave lenders can be. <br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-25033822281050731132010-08-06T10:29:00.000-04:002010-08-06T10:30:00.647-04:00Dynegy Spark Spread BluesDynegy (DYN) issued some wording that makes an investor stop and think. Under liquidity and debt in the last earnings release they announced this snippet “During the second quarter, the company added a $150 million contingent letter of credit facility that, while currently unavailable, will provide additional liquidity for 2012 commercial activity in the event of widened spark spreads.”<br /><br />OK so you look up “spark spread” you get “The spark spread is the theoretical gross margin of a gas-fired power plant from selling a unit of electricity, having bought the fuel required to produce this unit of electricity.”<br /><br />So if the spreads are increasing that should be good. But Dynegy needs to post letters of credit to back itself up. Definitely needs more explaining. Was this backdoor 2012 guidance?<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-35342372009075820602010-08-05T19:04:00.000-04:002010-08-05T19:05:41.138-04:00Fortress Investment Group - Stealth Takeover Maybe?Fortress Investment Group (FIG) announced some results and watched their stock stay below $5 @ share. They tipped toed around the redemptions issues. They cannot explain why with all their good idea’s the share price is going no where and a mere $2 billion in market cap is not attracting any interest. The company is a hodge podge of different investment deals. No focus. No management commentary worth listening to.<br /><br />Makes you wonder if management group wants to talk the share price down and then buy it up?<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17543280.post-69472810444924004222010-08-04T11:32:00.003-04:002010-08-04T13:51:19.050-04:00Sirius XM Radio – No Winning ProfileSirius XM Radio (SIRI) increased customers given better car sales. The stock stayed solidly above the $1 @ share level. The questions are on the balance sheet. In the past six months cash dropped $150 million, accounts receivables from distributors increased $35 million, prepaid jumped a whopping $93 million, something called other long term assets jumped $48 million and long term related party debt jumped $90 million. <br /><br />This is not a winning profile.<br /><br />Disclosure: No position in any stocks mentioned in this post.Financial Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367766603069189650noreply@blogger.com