Allen Bauer wrote:
> > Tell that to the investors who are expecting that we reach a certain > level of earnings. Or how about all the bank convenants that suddenly > become very onerous if we don't quite make the agreed upon earnings > level? >
That's a huge one, point taken...
> > I know it's not quite the same thing, but the analog is still there. > And, yeah, yeah, investors are "short-sighted buffoons..." But, guess > what? They're the investors. It was their money. They get to place > conditions on its use. They don't usually care what the company > strategy is, or whether or not some "long term bet" is going to pay > off. They don't want to be involved in the day-to-day operations. They > invested in the company believing that the leadership will protect > their investment. They've *already* taken their risk by investing. They > don't want to hear that there is suddenly more risk than what they > originally signed up for. >
I'm more looking at the situation that missing a quarterly target to enhance an annual target may be the 'prudent' move. I'm not suggesting making anything riskier, just to change the perspective slightly.
David Erbas-White