AOL now says it improperly booked not $49 million but $190 million
A Wall Street Journal story (subscription required) pointing out AOL Time Warner's continuing lack of knowledge about how big a problem it really has with AOL's revenue classification. However, it also puts the problem in perspective since this is a small number compared to its last quarter revenue of $1.4 billion, for instance. That's always made me wonder why investors were freaking out so much by just this issue -- fine, if they wanted to be worried about the softness in the advertising market or AOL's slowing rate of new subscribers. But this?
Dot-com cockroaches have a way of multiplying in corporate offices and AOL Time Warner is finding it now has four times the infestation.
Did AOL Time Warner say that improperly booked revenue from its America Online unit was $49 million? Actually, it's $190 million of revenue restatements, according to a company announcement Wednesday after the market closed. Doesn't give you much confidence that Time Warner has a handle on problems at AOL.