Chapter 12. Analysis Tool #9: Detecting Red Flags
Stock prices, in the end, reflect the markets' earnings growth expectations for the underlying company, and all goes well as long as the firm continues to meet or beat expectations. But company executives face an impossible task. It's mathematically impossible to maintain early-stage growth rates after sales reach a certain level. For example, Table 12-1 shows year-over-year sales growth rates for some recent super-growers.
| Company | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com | 13 | 68 | 169 | 312 | 825 |
| eBay | 74 | 92 | 161 | 108 | |
| Priceline.com | -5 | 156 | 1300 |
The funny part is, regardless of whether it is a single company or an entire industry experiencing super-fast growth, ...
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