Ottawa Citizen: Red Hat boss looks through rose-coloured glasses

“Talk about moving at Internet speed: Four months ago, Red Hat
Inc. and Robert Young, its Canadian founder and chairman, were
riding the stock market boom for Linux operating systems. Today,
Red Hat stock is trading at $26.25 — 81 per cent below its $143
high (all figures in U.S. dollars) and most other Linux stocks are
in the same trouble. Citizen reporter Bert Hill talked to Mr. Young
at a recent Linux industry trade show in Montreal.”

“…Q: Red Hat and other Linux company stocks have plunged
almost 80 per cent since December. What do you tell people who
bought Red Hat at high prices?

A: Keep in mind that, in the short term, stock prices are
being driven by day traders. I believe there is an efficient
stock market which holds true in the long term, but not in the
short term.

“The message I give to our shareholders is that our goal is to
build a great technology company … and we figured it would take
us 20 years. The IPO was simply a tactical step on that road. So
whenever someone asks me about the share price, I basically say
check back with me in five years. I’ll take responsibility for the
stock price in five years; I can’t take responsibility for daily
fluctuations.”

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