Tell it. Tell it like it is. Prove it. Tell it again.
At last week’s Motorola financial analysts’ meeting in Chicago, Chris Galvin started the day by politely stating that the company’s stock was significantly undervalued. And after five hours of presentations designed to prove that point, he stated it again, not quite so politely.
I wish my husband had been there. He is looking for a career change right now and his helpful wife, the editor, is always coloring up his cover letters. This makes him a little uncomfortable. He is in the financial world and thinks in black and white. “Honey, you have to boast about yourself a little,” I tell him.
Take credit where credit is due.
After working for two years to make up for its decentralization problem and the resulting punishment from Wall Street, Motorola said it is ready to take some credit.
The company has turned from one centered around product to one centered around solutions and is forecasting and working toward double-digit margins in all sectors by the end of the year.
Galvin used all the right words. The company is focused on telematics. It is focused on broadband. It is focused on the wireless Internet. It is focused on 3G. Mike Zafirovski, the company’s new president of the Personal Communications Sector, is focused on “fundamentally improving the way the world communicates,” and reinvigorating the handset business by reducing product complexity by 50 percent; delivering on new product targets; reducing product costs by 20 percent; driving share with key customers and beginning to digitize PCS.
The charismatic leader seems to have the confidence and commitment to carry it out. Apparently, an attractive employee bonus plan is attached to realized projections in the personal communications area.
One analyst attending the meeting said it was the most clear and decisive Motorola presentation he had been to in years. The company’s statements and forecasts had a lot of teeth.
“Perception is significantly lagging reality. Connect the dots. Motorola is an extraordinary investment opportunity and a stock you should own and recommend your clients own,” Galvin pushed.
At press time, the company’s stock was up 11 percent.
Maybe the Street’s perception is beginning to catch up with Galvin’s reality.
