Look up from the computer for a moment. See that ticker scrolling by over there on the bottom of your TV screen? The one for Electrolux (NASDAQ:ELUX)? Take a good long look at it, for it's soon to be no more.

No, the company isn't going out of business. The trials and tribulations that have been hurting domestic home appliance makers such as Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) and Maytag (NYSE:MYG) haven't driven Sweden's Electrolux into bankruptcy. Sure, the maker of washing machines, ovens, and refrigerators under such diverse brand names as Electrolux, Frigidaire, and Eureka has been hit as hard as anyone by rising prices for commodities such as steel. Also true, Electrolux saw its operating profits fall 13% in 2004, and its net profits did decline a massive 37% in the fourth quarter alone. But much of the decline can be attributed to charges for restructuring and relocating its production facilities.

Electrolux changed its dividend policy to allow it more flexibility in deciding how much of net profits it will pay out annually, suggesting a weakening of confidence in its future. But seeing as over the past year, the company's cash flow actually improved over the year-ago period, the company's board of directors simultaneously recommended increasing this year's dividend by about 8%. Put all that news together, and combine it with the market's vote of confidence in boosting the company's share price by nearly 12% today, and the chances of Electrolux going out of business any time soon seem quite out of the question.

Interest in that business will no longer be tradable on the Nasdaq, however. Yesterday, Electrolux announced that it's pulling its listing from the tech-dominated exchange. The company's official line on the delisting is that, because its shares trade primarily in Stockholm, it no longer sees any need to maintain a U.S. listing. The company assured U.S. investors that its ADRs will continue to circulate in the U.S. on the over-the-counter market, however, and that Electrolux will continue to make the necessary filings with the SEC.

Fools who have been following the controversy over Sarbanes-Oxley, though, may be skeptical of that explanation -- and promise. We've already seen at least one public company throw in the public-listing towel, citing the toughened compliance requirements imposed by the 2002 legislation as a primary motivator. Fidelity Federal Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFED) announced late last month that it will be pulling its listing from the Nasdaq in order to save $300,000 in annual compliance costs. And there's been plenty of talk of foreign companies in particular being upset at the new regulations affecting their U.S. listings, grumbling that they have perfectly good stock exchanges back home. This Fool wonders whether Electrolux's delisting is really a prelude to a more complete withdrawal from U.S. equities markets -- and if so, then how many more foreign companies might follow Electrolux out the door.

Learn more about Sarbanes-Oxley and its unintended consequences in:

Fool contributor Rich Smith owns no shares in any company mentioned in this article.