Saturday, August 02, 2008
The ever amazing General Motors.
For more than 80 years it's been an extraordinary story in American business -- and still is! Last Friday it reported a $15.5 billion loss. Looking at numbers we see...
Market capitalization: $5.79 billion.
Cash holdings: $23.19 billion.
So after subtracting the cash, the market valued GM's business as of last Friday at negative $17.4 billion.
Last 12 months
Sales: $171.4 billion
Income: - $62.8 billion
Net profit margin: -36.8%
Earnings per share: -103.19
Enough! I am sufficiently impressed! It's true, the bigger they get, the further and longer they can fall and fall...
What to do? Maybe Bill Gates should buy 100% of GM with the fun money Melinda allows him and take it private, sole owner. After all, everybody needs a hobby to keep busy when they start their retirement.
It might do both GM's management and union a world of good, motivation- and innovation-wise, if they found themselves with a new sole owner who was actually accustomed to running an effective, efficient, profit-making business. And who, if he didn't get one from them, would close the whole damn thing down, sell it off for parts, and not feel any loss he takes any worse than he would a bad day at the bridge table with Warren. There's an old saying about how the threat of imminent execution concentrates the mind wonderfully.
But there has to be a better play in the domestic-owned auto industry for the rest of us. Let's look atChrysler, um, Ford.
Market capitalization: $10.43 billion.
Cash holdings: $25.27 billion.
So after subtracting the cash, the market valued Ford's business last Friday at negative $14.84 billion.
Oh ... drat.
For more than 80 years it's been an extraordinary story in American business -- and still is! Last Friday it reported a $15.5 billion loss. Looking at numbers we see...
Market capitalization: $5.79 billion.
Cash holdings: $23.19 billion.
So after subtracting the cash, the market valued GM's business as of last Friday at negative $17.4 billion.
Last 12 months
Sales: $171.4 billion
Income: - $62.8 billion
Net profit margin: -36.8%
Earnings per share: -103.19
Enough! I am sufficiently impressed! It's true, the bigger they get, the further and longer they can fall and fall...
What to do? Maybe Bill Gates should buy 100% of GM with the fun money Melinda allows him and take it private, sole owner. After all, everybody needs a hobby to keep busy when they start their retirement.
It might do both GM's management and union a world of good, motivation- and innovation-wise, if they found themselves with a new sole owner who was actually accustomed to running an effective, efficient, profit-making business. And who, if he didn't get one from them, would close the whole damn thing down, sell it off for parts, and not feel any loss he takes any worse than he would a bad day at the bridge table with Warren. There's an old saying about how the threat of imminent execution concentrates the mind wonderfully.
But there has to be a better play in the domestic-owned auto industry for the rest of us. Let's look at
Market capitalization: $10.43 billion.
Cash holdings: $25.27 billion.
So after subtracting the cash, the market valued Ford's business last Friday at negative $14.84 billion.
Oh ... drat.
