_________________________________________________________________

            B R E A K F A S T   W I T H   T H E   F O O L
                     Thursday, November 16, 2000

benjamin.rogers@enron.com
_________________________________________________________________

REGISTER TO BECOME A FOOL -- GET FREE STUFF!
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198634
_________________________________________________________________


 Sponsored By: NDB
 Apply Now and get $75 in Free Trade Commissions when you
 open your account with National Discount Brokers / ndb.com.
 Another way we take you under our wing.
 http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=198635


"The scalded cat fears even cold water." -- Thomas Fuller


MIXED NEWS FROM APPLIED MATERIALS
The company reports a strong fourth quarter, but warns that next
quarter's earnings will miss expectations.

By Chris Rugaber

Leading semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials (Nasdaq:
AMAT) reported strong fourth-quarter results after the closing
bell yesterday, doubling profits on an 81% increase in sales.
However, the company also warned that fiscal first-quarter
earnings would miss current forecasts.

Nevertheless, the company's fourth quarter (ended October 29)
was solid, to say the least. Net income jumped to $663.8
million, or $0.77 per share, from $303.8 million, or $0.37 per
share, in last year's fourth quarter. Analysts expected the
company to earn $0.76 per share. Sales reached $2.92 billion, up
from $1.61 billion, while new orders more than doubled to $3.6
billion and backlog increased to $4.38 billion, from $3.69
billion last year. Margins also improved, with gross margin
increasing to 51.7%, up from 49.6% in the year-earlier period,
and net margin rising to 22.7%, 3.9 points higher than the
year-earlier figure.

Despite the strong showing, the company is cautious about future
results, which is not too surprising given the cyclical nature
of the semiconductor industry. While Applied Materials benefited
from capacity increases at many chipmakers earlier this year,
concerns over slowing mobile phone and PC sales have muddied the
waters regarding revenue and earnings for the second half of
next year. "Conditions in our industry have become more complex
and uncertain," Chief Financial Officer Joseph Bronson told
Bloomberg News. "It is unclear what the impact of this
uncertainty will be on our markets."

For next quarter, the company stated that earnings per share
(EPS) were likely to come in between $0.75 and $0.78, below
current analysts' estimates of $0.80. Revenue should be between
$2.9 billion and $2.95 billion, below previous expectations of
$3.12 billion.

Investors that have held on through Applied Materials' ups and
downs have done pretty well over the years, though recent times
have been tougher. For more information about the company, check
out a Daily Double from Rick Munarriz this past spring.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198636
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198637
_________________________________________________________________

NEWS TO GO

In a long-expected move, AT&T (NYSE: T) announced yesterday that
it would spin off cable TV programming division Liberty Media
(NYSE: LMG.A), which it received as part of its purchase of
cable giant Tele-Communications, Inc. last year. While the
decision is dependent on a favorable tax ruling, AT&T plans to
convert the company's tracking stock to an asset-based equity
and distribute shares to holders of the tracking stock in the
second quarter of 2001. By selling Liberty, which owns stakes in
the E! Entertainment Network and Courtroom Television Network,
AT&T may satisfy regulatory conditions placed on it for the
approval of its purchase of cable operator MediaOne Group.

The mega-merger between America Online (NYSE: AOL) and Time
Warner (NYSE: TWX) may be delayed past the two companies'
self-imposed deadline of December 21, according to a report in
today's Wall Street Journal. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
wants the two companies to strike a cable-access deal with an
Internet service provider (ISP) as a condition of the merger,
and last week the FTC delayed a vote on the merger until
November 30 to give the two companies time to strike a deal with
an ISP. Nevertheless, the FTC would have to approve a
cable-access deal before the merger vote, and may not be able to
do so in time. The Journal also reported that the two companies
disagreed on strategy, as Time Warner wanted last week's vote to
proceed, while AOL did not. An AOL vice president denied that
there were any disagreements.

Retailer Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) reported dismal third-quarter
earnings after yesterday's market close. The company, under new
management led by Nordstrom family members, saw profit from
operations drop 41% to $23.4 million, or $0.18 per share, from
$39.7 million, or $0.29 per share, in the year-earlier period.
Sales rose 13%, to $1.25 billion, from $1.11 billion. The
company used steep price markdowns to clear out summer and fall
merchandise, and also saw an increase in operating expenses,
with sales, general and administrative (SG&A) costs jumping to
34.8% of revenue from 31.7% a year earlier.

The world's second-largest auction house, Sotheby's (NYSE: BID),
reported a disappointing third quarter and warned that
fourth-quarter and fiscal 2000 earnings would be below last
year's. Third-quarter sales dropped 6%, from $45.3 million last
year to $42.6 million, and losses from operations increased to
$0.45 per share, from $0.41. In addition, the company took a
pre-tax charge of $184.8 million, or $2.68 per share, as a
result of its settlement of shareholder lawsuits and an
antitrust investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The
company pleaded guilty last month to conspiring with its rival
Christie's on auction commission fees.

Check out yesterday's Foolish wrap-up with just one click.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198638
_________________________________________________________________

EDITORS' PICK

Does Intel have a future as king of all market niches it
touches? Two Fools debate the issue.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198639
_______________________________________________________________

-News & Commentary
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198640

-Fool Community
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198641

-Post of the Day
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198642

-Latest Fribble
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198643

-Latest Market Numbers
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198644
____________________________________________________________

My Portfolio: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198645
My Discussion Boards: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198646
My Fool: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198647
Fool.com Home: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198648
My E-Mail Settings: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198649


 Sponsored By: NDB
 Apply Now and get $75 in Free Trade Commissions when you
 open your account with National Discount Brokers / ndb.com.
 Another way we take you under our wing.
 http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=198650


FREE BOOK, JUST FOR FOOLS!
 Investor's Business Daily will send you a free copy
 of 24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success when
 you sign up for a free trial subscription of their newspaper.
http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=198651

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN STEM CELLS
 Get a free preview of this new report
 at Soapbox.com.
http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=198652

FOOL DIRECT E-MAIL SERVICES
 Need to change your address or unsubscribe? You
 can also temporarily suspend mail delivery. Click here:
http://www.fool.com/community/freemail/freemaillogin.asp?email=benjamin.rogers
@enron.com>

Have ideas about how we can improve the Fool Direct or new
e-mail products you'd like to see? Try our discussion board:
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=198653
____________________________________________________
(c) Copyright 2000, The Motley Fool. All rights reserved. This
material is for personal use only. Republication and
redissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of The Motley Fool.


.





MsgId: 
msg-14936-2000-11-16_9-10-01-3300192_2_Plain_MessageAddress.msg-09:15:12(11-16
-2000)
X-Version: mailer-sender-master,v 1.84
X-Version: mailer-sender-daemon,v 1.84
Message-Recipient: benjamin.rogers@enron.com