Sid Cato -- February 2005 Quiz Answers

(Answers for February 2005)

1. I don't get it: Are you analyzing 2005 annual reports or 2004, or what?
Answer: All of the above, though I can see how this might be confusing. Currently, we're receiving 2004 annual reports, most of which arrive in 2005. The early ones are from companies on a fiscal-year basis—from A. Schulman to Hormel to Walgreen's to Zygo. That said, if I find an earlier annual report—say, one I came upon for 2003, I feel free to analyze it, if belatedly. That's why Vulcan Materials' 2003 book is hailed in the February 2005 issue of my monthly newsletter, as well as two dozen early-arriving '04s. Make more sense now?

2. You say you "Get annual reports any way I can." What's that mean, precisely—you secretly, surreptiously pick reports out of trash bins, and printers' garbage cans? I find that hard to believe. Please explain.
Answer: Some companies automatically send me their annuals. Some advertise availability via the Wall Street Journal online service. Sometimes, an irate shareholder will shoot me a book, reporters and columnists likewise. That's what I mean by "getting annuals any way I can."

3. Be honest, now: After all these years, don't tell us you actually get excited when you find, say, one that was overlooked for world-class status. True or false?
Answer: Yes, I do. Take Vulcan Materials. Its 2003 book was obtained, near the end of 2004, via the The Wall Street Journal. When I analyzed it, using the computer programs I conceived of roughly 25 years ago, I discovered to my pleasant surprise it had scored 103 points, qualifying it—if belatedly—for citation. Which I did—devoting all of Pg. 4 of my February newsletter, Issue No. 257.

4. You're known to have a vendetta against Disney's "big-footed" (as you put it) CEO. True or false?
Answer: Depends on one's viewpoint, I guess. "Vendetta" also means "vindictive," which I suppose some would say I am. Year's back, I was invited to Disney's home, Orange County, California, to MC a black-tie awards banquet. Afterward, a corporate communicator came up, obviously mystified, saying, "But you're such a nice man; I heard you were the pits." My response: "Thank you...I think." Disney's CEO did, though, occupy Pg. 1 of my February newsletter—not the first time I've zinged Michael Eisner, likely not the last.

5. Is it true some companies, notified you had praised their annual report, decline to respond? Not even a token "Thanks"? True or false?
Answer: True, I guess you'd have to say. Take Hormel, and Walgreen Co. Both had 2004 annuals that richly warranted praise. Yet neither deigned to tell me the name of the report producer—so a human could be listed, as contact, on my website, for those wishing to obtain a copy.

6. You tend to find fault with annuals produced around the world, but surely there must be something you could praise companies for. True or false?
Answer: True. By wild coincidence, every one of the two-dozen 2004 books in and analyzed—each was adjudged as sufficiently forthright (read "honest") in my computerized evaluation. That has to be a first. Last year, for instance, among 2003 annuals, one in 10 CEOs wasn't assessed (by my standards, of course) as honest.

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	1.	I don't get it: Are you analyzing 2005 annual reports or 2004, or what? *Answer:* All of the above, though I can see how this might be confusing. Currently, we're receiving 2004 annual reports, most of which arrive in 2005. The early ones are from companies on a fiscal-year basis—from A. Schulman to Hormel to Walgreen's to Zygo. That said, if I find an earlier annual report—say, one I came upon for 2003, I feel free to analyze it, if belatedly. That's why Vulcan Materials' 2003 book is hailed in the February 2005 issue of my monthly newsletter, as well as two dozen early-arriving '04s. Make more sense now?

	2.	You say you "Get annual reports any way I can." What's that mean, precisely—you secretly, surreptiously pick reports out of trash bins, and printers' garbage cans? I find that hard to believe. Please explain. *Answer:* Some companies automatically send me their annuals. Some advertise availability via the Wall Street Journal online service. Sometimes, an irate shareholder will shoot me a book, reporters and columnists likewise. That's what I mean by "getting annuals any way I can."

	3.	Be honest, now: After all these years, don't tell us you actually get excited when you find, say, one that was overlooked for world-class status. True or false? *Answer:* Yes, I do. Take Vulcan Materials. Its 2003 book was obtained, near the end of 2004, via the The Wall Street Journal. When I analyzed it, using the computer programs I conceived of roughly 25 years ago, I discovered to my pleasant surprise it had scored 103 points, qualifying it—if belatedly—for citation. Which I did—devoting all of Pg. 4 of my February newsletter, Issue No. 257.

	4.	You're known to have a vendetta against Disney's "big-footed" (as you put it) CEO. True or false? *Answer:* Depends on one's viewpoint, I guess. "Vendetta" also means "vindictive," which I suppose some would say I am. Year's back, I was invited to Disney's home, Orange County, California, to MC a black-tie awards banquet. Afterward, a corporate communicator came up, obviously mystified, saying, "But you're such a nice man; I heard you were the pits." My response: "Thank you...I think." Disney's CEO did, though, occupy Pg. 1 of my February newsletter—not the first time I've zinged Michael Eisner, likely not the last.

	5.	Is it true some companies, notified you had praised their annual report, decline to respond? Not even a token "Thanks"? True or false? *Answer:* True, I guess you'd have to say. Take Hormel, and Walgreen Co. Both had 2004 annuals that richly warranted praise. Yet neither deigned to tell me the name of the report producer—so a human could be listed, as contact, on my website, for those wishing to obtain a copy.

	6.	You tend to find fault with annuals produced around the world, but surely there must be something you could praise companies for. True or false? *Answer:* True. By wild coincidence, every one of the two-dozen 2004 books in and analyzed—each was adjudged as sufficiently forthright (read "honest") in my computerized evaluation. That has to be a first. Last year, for instance, among 2003 annuals, one in 10 CEOs wasn't assessed (by my standards, of course) as honest.