“From a financial perspective, Red Hat’s a much safer IPO bet
than some of the other Internet and retailing companies that have
gone public in the past month.
“In the year ended Feb. 28, Red Hat reported a loss of $91,000,
or 1 cent a share, on sales of $10.8 million. That’s up from sales
of only $5.1 million in 1998.
“In its latest quarter, the Durham, N.C.-based company checked
in with a loss of $2 million, or 9 cents a share, on sales of $2.7
million.”
“But before anyone gets too excite about the IPO, keep in mind
that Be Inc. (Nasdaq:BEOS – news), which also offers an alternative
operating system, was practically laughed off the Street on July 21
when it went public.”