It's not the economy. It's management's response to the environment.

Some companies make money. Apple, Amazon, Walmart, Google. Some companies don't make money. And yet, they all live in different parts of the same environment. Why exactly do we waste valuable management time on "forecasting revenue" when it could be much better spent making money.

Google doesn't. Caterpillar decided not to. If you don't know, just say you don't know. It will make the "analysts" job a little harder. But we've got our problems, they have their problems.

Anyway, what exactly changed between the first guesstimate to March 20 that allowed it go from 16c - 20c to 3c - 5c.? The great "financial meltdown" must have been clear before the first numbers. The "economy" was already in the crapper.

Why do I think that if someone in the middle of the pyramid got is so wrong, they would be in for a pretty dismal performance review.

Earnings Preview: Xerox -- Seeking Alpha
"Xerox Corp. (XRX) is expected to report Q1 earnings before the market open on Friday, April 24 with a conference call scheduled for 10:00 am ET.

The consensus estimate is 4c for EPS and $3.54B for revenue, according to First Call. On March 20 Xerox sharply cut its Q1 earnings forecast to between 3c and 5c, compared to the previous guidance of 16c to 20c. The company blamed it on “the increasingly more challenging global economic environment.”

Plus what's all this about

Xerox said the reduction included a 6c impact arising from costs of restructuring the Fuji Xerox joint venture. . .

I guess we'll have to wait until after the conference call and see if any of the "analysts" drill down on it. If not, there is always the meeting on May 29th.

Wouldn't it be really cool if the Board would do a blog, where investors could get an answer without the "media" in between. And of course there is always the possibility that the corporate blogs would from time to time be printernet published to get some money in the hands of PSPs instead of giving it to magazines and caterers. It would be a much faster, better and cheaper way to get the message out, without having to cow tow to "reporters" and "analysts."

Ah, I can always dream . . . .