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LEAPS AND QUARTERLY EARNINGS
During this leap year, the stock market is leaping to new highs, and this column is leaping to the Internet. This will be the last "BG Stock Market in Business Geographics. However, future columns will be available via the World Wide Web at http://www.gisworld.com. The Internet will provide a more timely medium for Business Geographics stock market watchers.
Additional stock information is offered on the Schott Consulting Services (SCS) site (http://www.schott.com) and through a link from GIS World Inc.’s home page. The site includes continually updated data on each index stock, including links to daily stock prices, a 52-week stock price graph, company documents registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission through the Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) system and links to company home pages. There also are links to all previous "BG Stock Market" columns, as well as the "Stock Watch" columns from GIS World magazine. Stock Links identify helpful investment and stock resources and GIS Links provide geographic technology connections. If you’d like to share other links, let me know via electronic mail or from the SCS home page.
This column offers a revised index that merges the BG Index with the GIS Index. Two stocks were added to the BG Index: Analytical Surveys, Colorado Springs, Colo., and SymmetriCom, San Jose, Calif. The latter addition uses Global Positioning System technology to calibrate telecommunications equipment. The newly revised index, called the GIS Stock Index, was developed by SCS.
Quarterly Earnings
The quarter ending December 31, 1995, saw fewer disappointments than the year’s previous quarter. Atlanta-based Equifax Inc. performed slightly better than analysts’ mean estimates, with a quarterly net income of $.30 vs. $.24 a year earlier, and Intergraph Corp., Huntsville, Ala., at $.15 compared with a loss last year. Additionally, Analytical Surveys posted a strong quarterly net income increase of $.09 compared with $.05 from last year’s comparable quarter. Primark Corp., Waltham, Mass., earnings were also strong with a year ending net of $.82 (adjusted) vs. $.62 last year. The CACI International, Arlington, Va., December earnings of $.22 vs. $.19 last year also were respectable.
MapInfo Corp., Troy, N.Y., posted disappointing quarterly results with a net of only $.02 vs. $.15 a year ago, along with Trimble Navigation Ltd., Sunnyvale, Calif., which posted $.03 vs. $.15 a year earlier. Despite an increase in San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk Inc.’s earnings of $.34 from $.15, including adjustments, its revenues declined for the quarter to $126.3 million, down from $129.6 million, a year ago. Its quarterly results were below initial estimates. Quarterly earnings ending March 31, 1996, will be accessible from the GIS World and SCS Web sites. Index Outpaces the S&P 500
Index Outpaces S&P 500 For February, the revised index posted a 6% increase compared with only a 1% gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500. Leading the pack was Trimble (up 27%), followed by Primark and Autodesk with 18% and 17% increases respectively. The laggards were Eagle Point Software, Dubuque, Iowa, and MapInfo, both with 6% declines.
Editor’s Note: The Friday, May 31, late morning session at the Business Geographics Conference in Chicago will focus on investments and the stock market. It will feature nationally regarded speakers overviewing the market in general and business geographics and technology stocks.
Business Geographics, April, 1996
(This article was reproduced with permission from GIS WORLD Inc., and Business Geographics.)