Re: A better reply would have been to state how well Intel has managed to support their EPS in the face of the burst of the Internet bubble. But you chose to state something else, which was false.
No, I showed figures that had Intel's EPS at $0.19 in 2001 and $1.44 expected this year, 2005. That's tremendous growth, in part because Intel invested heavily in manufacturing when all the analysts and industry experts said they were crazy. "MWDaveT" didn't claim that EPS had not gone up since 2000, he merely said that it had not gone up, which was the bone I chose to pick.
And even if he had compared with 2000, it is not consistent to base results on a market that was buying irrationally. I included year 2000 results for comparison, to show that in spite of those earnings being at the peak of the Internet boom, Intel has grown to the point where they are achieving similar results without overbooking inventories or feeding a market that is over-exuberant.
Now, as far as stock buyback, the numbers show a 12% reduction, which means that the expected EPS this year will be almost $0.20 better than it would have been if stock buyback had not occurred. In a market that over-analyzes every penny, a $0.20 improvement ought to have some impact on the value of shares.
Considering the current valuation of Intel stock, it seems to me that investors are being overly cautious about A) a commoditized market, B) a secular drop in demand, and C) competitive pressure. But I think that 2006 will prove to be another good growth year, commodization concerns will be proven to be overblown yet again, and Intel's competitive situation will improve dramatically with the release of new products over the next 12 months. And with investors fears proven dubious, the share price will move back to its usual place among growing technical companies.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
