Reporting A First-Ever Profit

January 22, 2002
Brice Wightman

An early morning market jump start from Amazon.com didn’t last long, and the
indexes quickly turned down and stayed down for the remainder of the session.

The Dow lost 58.05 to 9713.80; the Nasdaq fell 47.77 to 1882 .57, levels not
seen since November; the S&P 500 dropped 8.27 to 1119.31.

Tech was the big loser, with the Semiconductor Index
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plummeting 23.82 to 499.22, under the psychologically important 500 level. Chip
stocks were lower ahead of Motorola’s
(
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numbers due out after the bell. Analysts are worried that the book-to-bill
numbers may be weak. The Street is expecting (-.05) for MOT, which closed down
.59 to 13.66.

Following a dim holiday season, the Blue Light went red, and K-Mart
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filed Chapter 11 — the largest retailer ever to file for bankruptcy.
Competitors Wal-Mart
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most, with Wal-Mart gaining more in the South and Target in the Midwest. K-Mart
received a $2 billion credit line, which will allow it to stay in business, but
will close as many as 500 stores. KM closed out the day under a dollar, at .69.
Target gained 1.16 to and Wal-Mart rose 1.66.

Reporting a first-ever profit was enough to send Amazon.com
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rocketing for a 24% gain. The results, which blew past even the most
optimistic expectations, were fueled by strong holiday numbers. AMZN earned a
penny, compared with $1.53 loss a year ago; AMZN closed up 2.44 to 12.60.

Banks were strong on Bank of America’s
(
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report. Merrill Lynch went to a “buy” from “neutral” on the
stock, which closed up 1.87 to 62.67.

Lucent
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additional 7,000 jobs, but also said it was past the bottom and expects 10%-15%
sales growth in the second quarter. LU gained a penny.

Tyco
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parts: healthcare, fire protection, financial services, and security systems.
TYC gapped strongly at the open, closing up 1.10 to 47.55.

ImClone Systems
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today, to 19.20. A House committee is investigating trials of its drug, Erbitux.

A study by the National Investor Relations Bureau shows that of 233 companies
polled, 57% emphasized earnings results on a pro forma basis rather than GAAP
standards. Most companies, however, include GAAP results also. The SEC is
currently investigating accounting standards.

After the bell, Novellus
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pro-forma.

Reporting A First-Ever Profit

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

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