Expensing options hits high-techs hard.

• Position: Options - Buck Consultants study - Brief Article

Recent developments in the debate on expensing stock options have increased the financial risk to companies still taking a "wait-and-see" posture, according to a new study by Buck Consultants, a Mellon HR Services business. Buck studied the potential implications of retrospective accounting by focusing on 28 "blue chip" companies in the high-technology sector--the sector where the adverse effects are likely to be the greatest, since the use of stock options is most pervasive.

The study found that the median decrease in FY 2003 earnings per share for companies forced into retrospective accounting is approximately 20 times greater than the...