Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

SCO posts Q2 Loss, Gets $11k from Linux

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the you-can't-make-this-stuff-up dept.

Paul Hands sent us linkage to SCOs Q2 Financials. "The highlights are that SCOX only collected $11k (yes, K) for that much-discussed license for EV1 and other Licensees. Cost of that $11k was well over $4M. Overall, revenue was just over $10M, and they made a net loss applicable to common stockholders of $14,959,000, or $1.06 per diluted common share." Update According to the SCO conference call, this isn't accurate.. their Linux extortion income will be listed in the Q3 financials.

31 of 459 comments (clear)

  1. No improvements forecasted by Mz6 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    After reading CNET's version of this story (which also gives a good summary on what SCO is doing). SCO's forecast for next quarter doesn't really improve on last ones. The article states that this quarter (ending 31 July) SCO only expects revenue to fall between $10-12 million. But my favorite part of the article was this nice little blurb at the very bottom.

    "The company also announced on Thursday that it had notified the Berlin-Bremen, Stuttgart and Frankfurt Freiverkehr stock exchanges that its ticker symbol had been listed without the company's permission. SCO is asking the exchanges to remove the symbol."

    What's next? CNET gets a "Cease & Desist" letter from SCO because the company's name was used in this story?

    --
    Hmmm.
    1. Re:No improvements forecasted by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I'd be more worried about some sort of action against Groklaw.

      --
      tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
    2. Re:No improvements forecasted by Tackhead · · Score: 4, Interesting
      > > "The company also announced on Thursday that it had notified the Berlin-Bremen, Stuttgart and Frankfurt Freiverkehr stock exchanges that its ticker symbol had been listed without the company's permission. SCO is asking the exchanges to remove the symbol."
      >
      > What's next? CNET gets a "Cease & Desist" letter from SCO because the company's name was used in this story?

      Actually, there's something more ornery going on than that.

      A lot of US companies are popping up on German exchanges without the companies' knowledge or consent. It's a cheezy hack to get around US securities laws. Google for "naked short selling german exchange".

      When you sell shares short, your broker is supposed to lend those shares to you so that you can sell them. (When you cover the short, you buy the shares on the open market and hand them back over to your broker). To sell a stock short without borrowing shares is called "naked short selling", and has been against NASDAQ regs for a while. As of April, more regulations went into effect in to prevent the practice.

      The underlying principle is that you can't sell what doesn't exist. That's why your broker has to have some of those shares kicking around and be willing to loan them to you. If you can sell shares that don't exist, you can use that capability to manipulate the market in either direction.

      Although I think SCO (the company) isn't worth a load of foetid dingo's kidneys, I wouldn't want to have a position in SCOX (the stock) either way - and that goes double given the ludicrously small float and high potential for manipulation.

      But for once -- probably for the first and last time in their corporate history -- the litigious bastards who make up SCO are actually doing the right thing when they ask these exchanges to delist them.

  2. I'l only say this once.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    AH HAHAHAHAHAHHA

    With all the recent news (mostly covered by Groklaw) about what is going AGAINST SCO, I would REALLY REALLY like to see what they have going FOR them. Why would peopel invest in a company who seems to be determined to implode on themselves.

    So far everything I've seen says they don't have a hair to stand on in their case against IBM, DO they have anything?

  3. SCO dead pool by nate1138 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Time to start up the SCO dead pool. What date do you predict that they will run out of money and implode?

    --
    Where's my lobbyist? Right here.
  4. No one is scared anymore by Ars-Fartsica · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Since it has become clear that SCO is unwilling to ratify its claims in a court of law (if it were so willing it would be in court already, not seekign further delays), I don't think anyone really believes the threats have teeth anymore.

    In any case the ploy was a success - the goal was never to increase SCO revenue, but to bolster the stock price so execs could sell. The issue now is whether this will be investigated as a pump-and-dump scam that Darl and co knew from the outset had no basis in law. Don't scoff Darl - you still may end up in the cell block with Worldcom and Enron execs.

    1. Re:No one is scared anymore by leoxx · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Increasing stock value was part of it, but part of it as also to introduce a huge amount of fear into the marketplace over the use of Linux. That is, in my opinion, why both Microsoft and Sun were so willing to buy such expensive "licenses" for stuff they didn't even need.

  5. Re:Progress report by e9th · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They'll get infusions of money from anti-FOSS interests until they lose in court and all their appeals have been exhausted.

  6. It is a shame... by mikael · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If they had done something positive, like using their expertise in UNIX internals to offer device driver development for third party hardware, rather than destructive legal disputes, they would probably have made a much better profit.

    --
    Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  7. The Motley Fool by Jaywalk · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The Motley Fool published a good article about SCO's latest quarterly results. They've been increasingly dubious about SCO's claims and this article has pretty much crossed the line to outright contempt for SCO's activities. Choice quotes include calling SCO "something of a laughingstock" and referring to SCOSource as "the Linux users' shakedown program." They have a few things to say about Darl's skills as CEO too.

    Remember, these aren't techies talking about the technical merits of the case. These are financial guys commenting about SCO's quality as an investment. It nice to see someone other than technical folk scoffing at this sideshow.

    --
    ===== Murphy's Law is recursive. =====
    1. Re:The Motley Fool by c13v3rm0nk3y · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Thanks for the pointer to the article. My fave quote:

      At 5 bucks a share, with almost nothing available to short, SCO isn't worth much of your investing effort. But it's definitely worth watching, if only as an example of the way a company can be run into the ground, taking investors along.

      Ouch. Not even recommended for a short-sell anymore. Nothing left but cash-burn.

      Remember to turn out the lights on your way out. Leave the keys at the night desk.

      --
      -- clvrmnky
  8. EV1 revenue by Col.+Klink+(retired) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    From the conference call, it seems that the EV1 revenue won't start coming in until Q3. They still say it's in the "6 figures," but less than $250K and will be spread over several quarters.

    --

    -- Don't Tase me, bro!

  9. Not nearly enough by iamacat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What is needed is either a lengthy prison term for Darl and a dozen other people at the helm, or an apology for unfair punishment to all the virus writers and pirates, to speak nothing of simple curious, computer-literate individuals. Recently, US justice system claimed worms cause billions of dollars in financial damage and a single song on Kazaa is worth tens of K. Well, they should really jump on this one - a rogue causing countless companies to waste money on laywers or pay for unwanted MS software.

  10. Litigation? by Claire-plus-plus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I seem to remember once reading that a few yeard ago Darl was the CEO of a company that sued IBM over intellectual property rights. The article stated that on that occasion IBM bought out the company and Darl received a big payout from the shareholders.

    Some people say that SCO are only attacking IBM this time in an attempt to be bought out. In fact I just found this, an open statement by Darl that he would welcome IBM buying SCO to make the problem go away: SCO's CEO says buyout could end Linux fight. I think that settles it. SCO doesn't want to win in court they don't even want to go to court, they just want to scare IBM into buying them out.

    --
    99 bottles of beer in 175 characte
  11. Re:SCO nees to work a bit harder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Also from the article:

    "By the way, McBride was paid more than $1 million last year -- most of it in cash -- to preside over
    this impending disaster."

    Sadly, I think Darl is rofl too.

  12. Already delisted? by TWX · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I thought that they were already delisted, and only noticeable through a specific lookup.

    They're not in the newspaper stocks listings...

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  13. Even more than that by doublem · · Score: 2, Interesting

    These are fiancial guys Joe Sixpack listens to. Mainstream all the way baby.

    --
    "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
  14. Re:And the best bit is... by harrkev · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There was talk a year ago about SCO hoping to be bought out by IBM as a result of the suit...

    Wouldn't it be awesome if, once this company is reduced to ashes, IBM were to buy them out for only a million or two (chump change for IBM). They would finally own ALL of the rights to Unix. Then, they could open-source the whole thing! THAT would be cool!

    --
    "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  15. Re:SCO nees to work a bit harder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...But the firm made more money than the 'firm' of the guy who mows lawns.

    All I'm saying is Darl and crew made considerably more salary than lawnmower guy, and that's why they're still at it. Keep an eye on the silly monkeys, folks. Keep wondering why there have been no investigations on behalf of shareholders.

    And should there be? What about freedom to invest in what you damn well please? Is stock regulation all that different from requiring registration and certification of programmers?

    Just putting that out for thought. I'm appalled Darl and crew do all this without fear of jail, but that in turn does reasonably question why I'm more libertarian about software.

    And jeeze, it's an SCO article. Gets harder each time to find something chewy to discuss about it. That's the best I can do on first coffee.

  16. What will happen to Unix? by wandazulu · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As much as I have enjoyed watching this slow-motion train wreck, I am starting to wonder what will happen to the actual Unix rights SCO has, presuming that they will need to sell everything at some point to pay off their creditors.

    Though I have to imagine the government couldn't *possibly* agree to this, can you imagine them selling the rights to Microsoft? Because of all the insanity this company has been willing to wallow in, I can't, for one, imagine them selling the rights to some benevolant organization; I'd think they'd rather do something to screw Linux over "just one more time".

  17. Agreed. by zonix · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Maybe, but it hasn't exactly been positive news. People who didn't know much about Linux and heard about this whole SCO debacle are probably even LESS likely to want to switch over now.

    Agreed. When this whole damn thing was at it's hottest, I saw Darl McBride on CNN actually mentioning Linux together with - I'm pretty sure - the words 'cyber terrorism'. All of this makes for a really bad combination for the average Joe and Jane User.

    z
    --
    What would an EWOULDBLOCK block, if an EWOULDBLOCK could block would? -- me
  18. Re:Mowing lawns by ForsakenRegex · · Score: 1, Interesting

    "How else can a kid make this kind of money, $20/hr."

    Well, there's meth, coke, heroin, marijuana, pcp, acid, shrooms... ...and contract killing. They never expect a 12 year old.

    --
    "A man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense not to himself."
  19. Re:SCO nees to work a bit harder by mangu · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Funny thing is, someone got a discount. $11000 = 15 * $699 + $515. Or did someone at SCO walk away with $184?

  20. Things are starting to make sense now by doctor1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I read here that SCO was seeking a 5 month trial delay. That makes sense to me. If my buddies and I were pulling down tons of cash, and salaried no less, by coming up with stupid ideas, like extorting money from big corporations, then I would want to keep drawing my salary as long as possible. Especially if our stupid extortion scheme was only pulling down about $11,000 every three months.

    --
    Astronauts in weightlessness of pixilated space, exchange graffiti with a disembodied race. - Rush
  21. Re:Why R&D? by Vancouverite · · Score: 2, Interesting

    To make the scam look better....

    Consider: If you are the SEC, and a number of people write you a number of different letters, all along the line of "Company X is pulling a Stock Scam. They don't have any real intention of staying in business. They just want to pump their stock, and sell their business.", one of the things you would look for is continuing investment in the company. And, certainly, R&D investment would count.

    <TinfoilHat>
    What would be interesting would be to see where those $$ are being spent. Could they have contracted their R&D to some outside (Canopy) company as a way of pumping a bit more money out of the rapidly dying husk of a company?

    Hmmmm.......
    </TinfoilHat>

    --
    We are the Music Makers, and We are the Dreamers of Dreams...
  22. Re:Unauthorized listing: by trixillion · · Score: 3, Interesting

    large short to float ratio will cause high instability. it makes the market ripe for short squeezes. It is possible that a great many people who are short SCOX will lose their shirts even as the company collapses. The markets are an unfriendly beast.

  23. Not so fast... by dcavanaugh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Most of the rights to SYSV belong to Novell, not SCO. From a Linux point of view, nobody has shown any infringing code, but some variants of Unix really ARE based on SYSV and the ownership of code might matter. I doubt that even Novell can actually prove ownership of everything in SYSV or clearly define their rights in a way that would hold up in court. Therefore they collect revenue in some areas where their rights are not disputed, using SCO as a sort of collection agent.

    There is a theory out there stating that Sun's attempt to open source Solaris is just a ruse, so as to pump up whatever is left of SCO's credibility.

    Sun: "We are going to GPL Solaris".
    SCO: "No you can't, we own Unix and the license you bought from us does not allow you to GPL Solaris".
    Sun: "Oh, that's right. You own Unix, and that's why we paid for a license. Silly us."

    If IBM somehow becomes the owner of SCO's IP (whatever that may prove to be), they could possibly remove the SCO "obstacle" to Solaris/GPL and therefore call Sun's bluff. In that case, Sun would just make some other excuse for declining to GPL Solaris (probably blaming Novell). It would be fun to watch, but not quite so much fun as seeing the "For Sale or Lease" sign at SCO headquarters or Darl's resume on monster.com.

  24. Re:Thanks! by Jugalator · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I know some people who doesn't care much for Linux, and also browse such forums and nowhere have I heard anything negative come from this whole SCO thing. I think also most Windows supporters realize how silly they are. :-P

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  25. Re:Connections by Dyolf+Knip · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I dunno about this one. Did a globexplorer.com satellite photo search on that address. It's a pretty posh neighborhood, but doesn't have the outrageously ostentatious, "fiddling while Rome burns" feel that I think someone like McBride would demand. He's made a boatload of money from his antics, and I can't believe that SLC real estate is altogether expensive.

    Though to confirm another followup post, Darl's middle initial is indeed C.

    --
    Dyolf Knip
  26. Pretty positive, actually by crucini · · Score: 2, Interesting

    SCO's been saying that Linux is so powerful and advanced that it destroyed the market for Unix. Those who understand the situation realize that when SCO says "Unix" they mean their own pathetic products - most IT professionals would think of Solaris, HPUX and AIX. And Linux is not really ready to displace those at the high end.

    But to the general public/financial community SCO has sent a loud and clear message that Linux has crushed Unix. It almost makes me wonder if IBM arranged the whole thing.

  27. Is this spooky or is it just me.. by genericpenguin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    .., slightly offtopic but here goes.

    SCO vs APPLE Stock

    Have a chuckle and then get back to the real world(work).

    --
    "Why, Johnny Ringo. You look like somebody just walked over your grave." Doc Holliday, Tombstone.