Looks like Pascal will have no choice but to resign soon. There may be hope for us yet! Q3 numbers on target to miss by a significant margin according to analysts.
9 misses in a row. He is running out of assets to sell to pad the revenue line and prop up stock prices. The only stock being purchased is being purchased by AZ. Buying back your own stock to protect stock price is not a long term strategy. Big personnel cuts have to come after this next terrible report.
Earnings decline has been a linear curve from $0.65 in 3Q2016 to 2Q2017. 3Q2017 lagluster sales should produce earnings of $0.40. Consensus expectation is $0.55/share. Net sales from Aspen deal equates to almost $0.45/share. How that deal gets booked will factor into the difference between true earnings and another one off earnings surprise.
AZ has more debt than equity. Big debt, this is not good. http://quicktake.morningstar.com/stocknet/bonds.aspx?symbol=azn
This is a complete reversal in just 5 short years. Companies used to be interested in buying AZ because of its positive cash to debt ratio. Not any longer. Just another nail in the AZ coffin. When Frenchie is done draining our assets and lining his pockets with more gold, he will sell us off and move on to the next train wreck in waiting.
Investigation? What, is there an internal investigation? Do you really expect anything to come from such a thing? Is it external, like maybe there will be a layered corporate integrity agreement? Another office for a government clerk at AZ headquarters? Which CIA officer will have the power, and who will be the CIA officers' managers? Get real. The bucks are what matters, and AZ is now borrowing the bucks because AZ can no longer make bucks.
