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Harley Davidson: A Great Company That's Slightly Off Course

Let me get this straight: According to Ravernon, the "weak management" of Harley-Davidson is responsible for fiscal 2007 estimates of EPS growth of 4% - 6% compared to 2006 based on moderate revenue growth, lower operating margin, and the benefits of our strong free cash flow.

For 2008 and 2009, the Harley expects solid revenue growth, operating margin improvement and the strong free cash flow to drive EPS growth to 11% - 17%. According some estimates, analysts on average are expecting the Company to report EPS of $4.11 for fiscal 2007, $4.63 in fiscal 2008 and EPS of $5.20 in fiscal 2009. The Company expects to ship between 94,000 and 97,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the second quarter of 2007.

As for being an 'inferior' product, the Harley of today is not the Harley of the past as far as breakdowns are concerned. They are just as solid as the Jap bikes yet without the cheap imitation styling. Even after surviving the AMF years, it still managed to regain and rebuild its status as an American Icon. It couldn't become so if it was in fact, an inferior product.