Sun takes charge of $1.05 billion

[UpInArms]

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?siteid=mktw&guid=%7BE54C2305%2D4ADC%2D4553%2DBD88%2DEC90D374D3C9%7D&


SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Sun Microsystems said late Monday that it would revise its 2003 fourth-quarter results and take a non-cash charge of $1.05 billion.

Sun (SUNW: news, chart, profile) said the revision would result in the network- computer company posting a revised loss of $1.04 billion, or 32 cents a share, for the quarter ended June 30, wiping out the previously announced profit of $12 million.

The company said it was taking the charge after it reviewed the amounts of deferred tax payments it carried on its books.

...more...

this was a report after the market closed today - we'll see howthe market reacts tomorrow.

[Caution]

1. $1 BILLION!?!?!??

that does not bode well for Sun.

[bahrbearian]

2. Posting After the Bell is Very Common

Since Chimmpy's been in.. Wonder why they didn't post after friday's bell????

[no name no slogan]

3. Sun is circling the bowl

Unless Sun can somehow overcome the beating it's getting from Linux on Intel hardware on the server side and MS on the client side, it will soon be irrelevant, Java or no Java.

Scott McNealy is the biggest prick in the universe. He's so wrapped up in Bill Gates-hating that he didn't even see Linux eating his lunch in the low-end server market, until it was too late.

Although I do a little dev work in Java and have run stuff on Solaris in the past, I will not be terribly upset if Sun finally goes down the drain. Their cavalier attitude and overpriced boxes have done quite a bit to make them the pariahs of the commercial computing industry.

[dfong63]

5. no, bill gates is a bigger prick

at least sun makes decent products, unlike microsoft. sun's OS is more reliable, and has fewer security problems.

[GregW]

4. That's NOTHING!

When I worked at marchFIRST we took a $6.8B charge in Q4 of 2000.

Yes, that's right folks, we reported a loss of 37 bucks a share!

Ahhh ... the death of the dotcom age, those were the daze.

[salin]

6. read this as (Rev) Sun... takes charge of $1.05B (FB-I)

Shook my head, rubbed my eyes, remembered reading something about Sun getting a piece of the Faith-based Initiative pie... but oh my!

This story makes more sense.