This morning, Silicon Valley was waking up to what could be the financial equivalent of a double shot of Starbucks
Following last week's vote by Hewlett-Packard
PeopleSoft's board of directors was opposed to the measure on the grounds that options are a key incentive for employees. Another reason could be that, as reported in its most recent 10-K filing, expensing options would have turned PeopleSoft's $85 million of 2003 net income into a $75 million net loss.
Interestingly, the options debate overshadowed the proposed buyout of PeopleSoft by rival Oracle
As we've written here many times, stock options might look like free money, but they have a cost that shareholders ultimately must bear. Fellow Fool contributor Jeff Hwang provided a clear example of this recently, in his story about Texas Instruments
With HP and now PeopleSoft shareholders weighing in from Silicon Valley's backyard, the people have spoken. Is anyone in the boardroom listening?
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Motley Fool contributor Tim Beyers gets an early wake-up call every day -- from his kids. Tim has no stake in any of the companies named, and you can view his Fool profile here.