Former (R) Candidate Meg Whitman Receives $15 mil bonus while HP goes in toilet

[detjetsfan]

But I guess it will all "trickle down"?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

H-P's Meg Whitman Receives $15.4 Million—Proxy Filing

By BEN WORTHEN

In Meg Whitman's first full year on the job as Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ -2.48% chief executive, she received compensation valued at $15.4 million, according to H-P's proxy filing Friday.

For H-P's 2012 fiscal year, which ended Oct. 31, Ms. Whitman's compensation was largely in the form of stock awards and options, as her base salary was $1. Her bonus of $1.7 million was less than her target of $2.4 million.

Ms. Whitman took over as H-P CEO in September 2011, and has tried to turn around the struggling company. Among other things, she reversed her predecessor's decision to spin out H-P's PC division and is cutting about 29,000 jobs.

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Reuters

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, seen at a conference last summer.

Some top H-P executives saw their total compensation fall in 2012 as the company fell short of targets amid declining revenue and profits.

In its proxy, H-P also sponsored a proposal that would give large shareholders the right to nominate directors, a widely expected move that is a big victory for activists.

The Palo Alto, Calif., technology company last year agreed to put the proposal on its annual proxy statement as part of an agreement with Amalgamated Bank's LongView Fund, which owned about 400,000 H-P shares at the time of the February 2012 deal.

Amalgamated Bank had planned to bring the measure up at H-P's 2012 meeting but a spokesman said last year that it would instead allow H-P to submit the proposal itself this year.

If the measure is approved at H-P annual meeting to be held March 20, shareholders who own 3% or more of the company for at least three years will be allowed to nominate directors.

H-P's board has come under scrutiny in recent years for spying on reporters, forcing out several chief executives, and the ill-fated acquisition of software maker Autonomy, which H-P later accused of accounting irregularities. Autonomy's former chief has denied the allegations.

An H-P spokesman had no comment on the filing.

[MnJetFan]

How did Obama miss this one?

[Warfish]

Don't invest in poorly-run long-failing companies.

[parafly]

So she received a bunch of stock awards and options from a company which is trending downward and may eventually fail. Her actual salary and bonus was small compared to other CEO's in the industry.

What is the point here?

[palmetto defender]

Don't see a problem. HP had a bad year. Projected to do well starting this quarter.
Don't own it but good balance sheet. Out of biz? Not anytime soon. Dell first. Frankly Microsoft stinks worse.

[Warfish]

Originally Posted by palmetto defender

Out of biz? Not anytime soon. Dell first. Frankly Microsoft stinks worse.

Lol, no chance. Dell may have some issues, Microsoft is fine product-wise.

HP and it's business model and products are veritable dinosaurs, and they've been in decline for years now.

I wouldn't give them a penny, as a consumer, or as an investor.

[Axil]

Originally Posted by palmetto defender

Don't see a problem. HP had a bad year. Projected to do well starting this quarter.
Don't own it but good balance sheet. Out of biz? Not anytime soon. Dell first. Frankly Microsoft stinks worse.

I can't speak to whether M$'s stock will go up or down, but there's no way they go out of business in the next 5 years.

If they do nothing else (and they're doing plenty) the next generation of windows and xbox will sustain them that long.

[detjetsfan]

Originally Posted by parafly

So she received a bunch of stock awards and options from a company which is trending downward and may eventually fail. Her actual salary and bonus was small compared to other CEO's in the industry.

What is the point here?

Just another example of trickle-up economics. Maybe she can get more tax breaks too?

[Warfish]

Originally Posted by detjetsfan

Just another example of trickle-up economics. Maybe she can get more tax breaks too?

You really have no idea what you're talking about here, do you?

Ride on Windmill Jouster, Ride On!

[FF2®]

Its capitalism, no?

Haters gonna hate.

[palmetto defender]

Originally Posted by Warfish

Lol, no chance. Dell may have some issues, Microsoft is fine product-wise.

HP and it's business model and products are veritable dinosaurs, and they've been in decline for years now.

I wouldn't give them a penny, as a consumer, or as an investor.

Couple points:
Michael Dell is shopping Dell to a couple private equity firms ( ala Bain). He knows the party is over and wants OUT. PE means the end of the lone.
Microsoft has not been any good since Bill Gates decided he wanted to do the foundation thing. Steve Ballmer is not good. MS did not even both to attend the National Consumer Electronics show> Not a good sign for new products. The stock is a bowser. It's lower ( a lot) than when I sold it 14 years ago.

[parafly]

Originally Posted by palmetto defender

Couple points:
Michael Dell is shopping Dell to a couple private equity firms ( ala Bain). He knows the party is over and wants OUT. PE means the end of the lone.
Microsoft has not been any good since Bill Gates decided he wanted to do the foundation thing. Steve Ballmer is not good. MS did not even both to attend the National Consumer Electronics show> Not a good sign for new products. The stock is a bowser. It's lower ( a lot) than when I sold it 14 years ago.

HPQ is down 65% in the last three years. Their products suck and the party is almost over for them as well.

[chiefst2000]

Originally Posted by palmetto defender

Couple points:
Michael Dell is shopping Dell to a couple private equity firms ( ala Bain). He knows the party is over and wants OUT. PE means the end of the lone.
Microsoft has not been any good since Bill Gates decided he wanted to do the foundation thing. Steve Ballmer is not good. MS did not even both to attend the National Consumer Electronics show> Not a good sign for new products. The stock is a bowser. It's lower ( a lot) than when I sold it 14 years ago.

Microsoft's story reminds me a lot of Sony Electronics. Anyone remember when Sony was the only brand to buy when it came to TV's and Radios and such? Some people may still have that impression. In reality Panasonic, Samsung and even LG have claimed that mantle.

Microsoft was for years the premier name in computing. Apple and Google have claimed the mantle and Microsoft seems like a dinosaur by caparison. How many people are buying MS Office when Google has all of those services provided free (google docs etc.) Do you know anyone that has the new Windows platform for their Smartphone/Tablet? No. That also works on a Droid OS so not really Microsoft anyway.

[BushyTheBeaver]

Originally Posted by chiefst2000

How many people are buying MS Office when Google has all of those services provided free (google docs etc.)

Just about every company and government agency on the planet.

I don't know many people who don't have a copy of Office on their personal computers, although true most either go with the free bundled version or scarfed a license key somewhere.

[Axil]

Originally Posted by chiefst2000

Microsoft was for years the premier name in computing. Apple and Google have claimed the mantle and Microsoft seems like a dinosaur by caparison. How many people are buying MS Office when Google has all of those services provided free (google docs etc.) Do you know anyone that has the new Windows platform for their Smartphone/Tablet? No. That also works on a Droid OS so not really Microsoft anyway.

Again, I'll reiterate my lack of an opinion on where the stock is going. But i disagree with you that Microsoft doesn't still play a key role in the industry.

First off, windows phones run on a mobile version of the windows operating system. Android, is a completely different operating system developed by Google. Perhaps i'm not understanding you on this point.

Microsoft office still dominates the business sector. Excel offers features Google doesn't, and people have been trained to use a version of it for 10+ years. Eventually that may change, but at the moment if you need spreadsheet software Excel is your best bet 90% of the time.

Microsoft also plays a huge role in the gaming scene. Xbox has sold as many units as the PS3, but creates significantly more revenue as they provide subscription services, and take huge cuts of arcade and DLC sales. They also completely dominate the competitive gaming console scene, which is small but provides free advertisements and helps drive sales and excitement for their next hardware offering.

Lastly the overwhelming majority of laptops and desktop computers still run on windows. I don't see that changing any time soon.

I agree they've fallen behind Google and Apple and are no longer the uncontested giant in the tech industry... but they're still kinda a big deal. Also i question Apple's staying power. Right now their sales are driven primarily on past reputation and Hype. The GalaxyS3 really is significantly better than the iphone5, and beat it to market to boot. Most of the advantages they had over the Windows operating system in terms of performance or usability have deteriorated with the release of windows 7, and while more programs run on Mac these days, Windows still holds a big advantage there. Oh yeah... and a windows PC of similar performance is significantly cheaper in most cases.

[palmetto defender]

Originally Posted by parafly

HPQ is down 65% in the last three years. Their products suck and the party is almost over for them as well.

The company was run by a sex abuser and then Carly Fiorina. She got fired at Boeing and AT&T before HP. A quota hire. Twp losers.
Whitman is a pretty decent manager. HP is not in bad shape at all. In perspective they are TWICE as big as J&J.
Don't own HP or any tech stock. But it is in a fair position. I recall IBM being on the ropes a few years ago - several bad years. Brought in a tough CEO = back on top. HP has mass market, not niche products.

[BushyTheBeaver]

Originally Posted by palmetto defender

The company was run by a sex abuser and then Carly Fiorina. She got fired at Boeing and AT&T before HP. A quota hire. Twp losers.

She was also an adviser to McCain in his 2008 presidential run. An annoying truth is that once you attain a certain level of management you can screw up time after time and still be assured a job no matter how incompetent you are. John Chambers sits securely at the head of Cisco despite a decade of bad decisions and stagnant growth.

[Piper]

Originally Posted by parafly

So she received a bunch of stock awards and options from a company which is trending downward and may eventually fail. Her actual salary and bonus was small compared to other CEO's in the industry.

What is the point here?

I think the point is that the OP doesn't understand economics or capitalism and hates people who make a lot of money.

[Warfish]

Originally Posted by palmetto defender

HP is not in bad shape at all.

First few paragraphs would seem to disagree with you.

What's Gone Wrong With H-P?

A Lengthy Turnaround Plan Will Require CEO Stability, Responsible Spending and Refresh of Products

By BEN WORTHEN

Wall Street Journal, Nov. 6, 2012

In 2010, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s HPQ -0.76% then-chief executive Mark Hurd boasted the company was "the largest IT company in the world" and said "we are still not to our full potential."

Two years and two CEOs later, H-P is stumbling. Over that time, the Palo Alto, Calif., company's market capitalization has fallen to less than $30 billion from more than $100 billion. On Friday, H-P's shares hit a new 10-year low.

Current CEO Meg Whitman has said H-P—which sells tech products including personal computers, printers, servers and consulting services—is now saddled with outdated products, poor internal processes and has "no silver bullets" for a rebound. She predicts profits will fall again next year and that H-P won't achieve meaningful growth until at least 2015.

An H-P spokesman said the company has a turnaround plan and has "put a strong leadership team in place," among other moves.

Here's a look at H-P's problems, and how the company plans to fix them:

Revolving Door at the Top

Four CEOs have run H-P since 2005. Each brought his or her own executives, often from outside the company. More than two dozen executives ranked senior vice president or higher have left in the last two years alone.

At an event for financial analysts last month, Ms. Whitman called the constant change at the top "the single biggest challenge facing H-P." The churn, she said, "has caused multiple inconsistent strategic choices" and "significant executional miscues."

In 2005, for example, then-CEO Carly Fiorina combined H-P's personal-computer business with its printer business. Ms. Fiorina was replaced later that year by Mr. Hurd, who split the two businesses up.

After Mr. Hurd was ousted in 2010, his successor Leo Apotheker, announced a plan to spin off the PC business. That was reversed by Ms. Whitman after she became CEO in 2011.

Meanwhile, the various CEOs have laid off—or pledged to cut—about 75,000 workers since 2005. Ms. Whitman herself has plans to lay off upwards of 29,000 employees, more than 8% of H-P's total 349,000-person workforce.

Given the constant reshuffling, H-P's employee morale has collapsed. A decade-plus of pay cuts and layoffs have left many rank-and-file employees distrustful of H-P's leadership, said Kimberly Elsbach, a professor at the business school at University of California, Davis, who recently wrote a case study of H-P. "There's an anxiety that permeates the workforce that has a chronic impact on people," she said.

H-P's fix-it strategy: Even as she cuts the workforce, Ms. Whitman has said that stable leadership will result in a consistent strategy and boost morale over time. She has pledged to remain CEO.

Lack of Investments

Mr. Hurd steadily increased H-P's profits—but he did so partly by cutting spending on programs that could have set the company up for future growth. Research and development spending, for instance, fell from $3.5 billion a year before he took the helm to $3 billion the year he left.

Among the areas where Mr. Hurd cut most aggressively was the services business, eliminating thousands of the employees brought over from a $13 billion purchase of outsourcing giant Electronic Data Systems Corp. in 2008. EDS's outsourcing model required massive investments in facilities, equipment and people, and relied on large, long-term contracts.

In 2011, Mr. Apotheker said the business didn't have the skills it needed to compete for high-end contracts.

More recently, four of the unit's biggest customers didn't renew deals. Unlike H-P's PC or printer businesses where the company can order fewer parts when sales slump, the services business is made up of thousands of consultants. Getting costs in line with revenue means cutting jobs, but that can form a vicious cycle.

"In the technology business, cost cutting is not a great long-term strategy," said Rob Cihra, an analyst at Evercore Partners EVR +1.25% .

At last month's analyst meeting, Ms. Whitman said H-P's past cuts to product development was hurting the company. She highlighted a fast-growing segment of the printer market where H-P hadn't updated its entry for seven years.

H-P's fix-it strategy: The company plans to spend some of the savings from Ms. Whitman's 29,000 layoffs on new research and development. Ms. Whitman also has said H-P will put in place new software for managing its sales and human-resources needs and for tracking its consultants that will make the company run more efficiently.

Poor Use of Cash

Like most big tech companies, H-P has acquired new technologies. But many of its biggest purchases have fizzled, leaving the company with less cash and more debt than its rivals and effectively shutting it out of future deals.

In 2007, H-P had more than $11 billion in cash and $5 billion in debt. In four of the next six fiscal years, however, H-P spent close to twice the amount of its free cash flow on acquisitions, such as the 2008 deal to buy outsourcing giant EDS and share repurchases.

At the end of its most recent quarter, H-P had just $9.5 billion in cash and more than $24 billion in long-term debt.

H-P's cash is well below that of its rivals—Oracle Corp. ORCL -0.21% has $32 billion and Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO +0.07% has $49 billion, for example—and it is among the few major tech companies to have more debt than cash.

Neither H-P's buybacks nor acquisitions have panned out.

H-P wrote off $8 billion of the $13 billion EDS deal earlier this year. In 2010, H-P also spent $1.2 billion to acquire mobile-device maker Palm, but shut down the unit and wrote it off a year later.

Last year, H-P paid more than $10 billion to acquire software maker Autonomy, but has already said sales in that business are declining.

Meanwhile, H-P spent more than $20 billion in the last few years to buy and retire its own shares. Yet the stock recently hit its lowest level in a decade.

Credit-rating agency Moody'sMCO +0.09% has said it is reviewing H-P for a possible downgrade, which might make it harder for the tech company to borrow and harm its ability to finance deals for customers.

H-P's fix-it strategy: Ms. Whitman has said H-P must pay off debt and build up its cash balance before it makes any big deals. The company has slowed share repurchases, even as its stock has declined.

Through the first nine months of 2012, H-P only bought back $1.5 billion of its stock—and just $365 million in the most recent quarter—while generating $6.5 billion in cash.

Declining Product Lines

Each of H-P's major businesses is in the midst of an industry-wide decline—and the company is losing share to boot. Worldwide personal computer sales fell more than 8% in the most recent quarter, as consumers gravitated to tablets and smartphones. H-P's share of the PC market fell to 15.9% in the third quarter from 17.4% a year earlier, according to research firm IDC.

Printer sales slid 3% in the most recent quarter as people print less; server sales also fell 3% as business embrace online services that don't require hardware purchases. H-P's server business has also been hurt by a dispute with Oracle over software development for some high-end systems.

As sales have fallen, expenses have risen. In fiscal 2011, H-P increased its headcount by 25,000 employees, even as sales began declining. Through the first nine months of 2012, sales fell almost $5 billion from a year earlier to $90.4 billion, but sales-related expenses climbed.

While H-P has some compelling products, the company "is unable to communicate the value of H-P," said Martin Reynolds, an analyst at research company Gartner.

H-P's fix-it strategy: Ms. Whitman has said H-P's days of heady growth are over and she expects the company to grow in line with the economy.

She plans to increase profitability in part by eliminating many of the company's products that are similar to others such as half of its 2,100 different laser printers.

Ms. Whitman is also working to refresh the design of H-P's products, especially PCs, which is the company's biggest line.

[palmetto defender]

Originally Posted by BushyTheBeaver

She was also an adviser to McCain in his 2008 presidential run. An annoying truth is that once you attain a certain level of management you can screw up time after time and still be assured a job no matter how incompetent you are. John Chambers sits securely at the head of Cisco despite a decade of bad decisions and stagnant growth.

Good observations. Astounding to advise McCain - had forgotten.
Chambers is a dolt. Larry Ellison is a good yachtman. The collection of losers at tech companies is amazing.
Try that at Coke or Procter and Gamble or Exxon. Good managers make good companies.
Whitman did well at ebay.