Today at 4pm EST/1 pm PST Sun Microsystems will upset the entire Reg FD Press Release ecosystem. To quote Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems from his blog:
"I’ve asked our investor relations (known as "IR") and press relations ("PR") teams to gear up to announce our results via Sun’s web site and RSS feeds. We will announce our results to the general public via Sun’s IR web site before making that same information available through the third party news services that traditionally distribute such information to paying subscribers. We will simultaneously file a Form 8-K with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (for their redistribution).
Specifically, we will publish our results to this web site on July 30th at 1:00 PM (Pacific Time), which will in turn be disseminated via open syndication protocols (namely, RSS) to those who have subscribed to Sun’s news feeds. 10 minutes after publication to the internet, we will distribute this information via traditional news wires for dissemination to private news agencies and distribution vehicles. " Read the full post.
To be clear Sun’s earnings release will come 10 minutes prior to distribution via PR Newswire! (PR Newswire is Sun’s Press Release distribution service)
Newstex will import Sun’s Earning Release via Sun’s RSS Feed and then distribute it in real time to our customers who receive the Newstex Press Release newsfeeds. Thus our customers will receive it in real time from Sun and then 10 mintues later from Sun via PR Newswire.
Matt Mike Dillion, Sun’s General Counsel blogs more details here.
We could not find any comment from PR Newswire, but BusinessWire has a nice counterpoint post titled "Sun’s Solar Eclipse:A Return to The Dark Age of Disclosure"
We’ll keep you informed as this story develops. If you are a public company syndicating your REG FD information via RSS and would like Newstex to add your content to our Newstex Press Release Newsfeed, email Newstex at regfd@newstex.com.
PR Newswire responded on July 26 in the Financial Times:
Sun to announce key news first on the web
By Richard Watersin San Francisco
Published: July 26 2007 03:00 | Last updated: July 26 2007 03:00
Sun Microsystems said it would start to release important corporate news first over the internet, in what is thought to be the first time a US company has used the online medium as its main channel for price-sensitive information.
While not entirely by-passing existing mechanisms for distributing corporate news, Jonathan Schwartz, chief executive, suggested the move points to the day when companies stop issuing news releases and communicate with investors directly over the internet.
However, the plan came under attack from critics who said it would hamper the flow of information to many investors.
When Sun reports its latest earnings on Monday the news will be available on its website 10 minutes before it is distributed to news services, Mr Schwartz said yesterday. It will also be made available on RSS feeds, which automatically “push” the information to users who have signed up in advance for the free service.
The 10-minute delay would mean that only those people who go directly to Sun for the information will receive the news as soon as it appears, said Dave Armon of PR Newswire, which distributes information on behalf of many US companies. By comparison, he added, services such as PR Newswire distribute through internet portals, the news services of the big search engines and other sites that aggregate financial information, ensuring information will reach a broad audience simultaneously.
An SEC spokesman said the agency had not issued any guidance on what it would consider to be adequate distribution of important corporate information over the internet, and that companies were bound by the general requirement in the agency’s Regulation FD to ensure “widespread dissemination” of news.
The technology company’s move follows a public exchange with Christopher Cox, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, carried out on Mr Schwartz’s blog.
Sun Microsystems shakes up traditional disclosure by announcing its financial results via the Web and RSS first, then via press release
Yesterday evening after the close of Wall Street trading, Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) reported results for its fourth quarter and full fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2007. But Sun made the announcement in a new way, releasing the news
Please note that the General Counsel of Sun Microsystems is named Mike Dillon, not Matt Dillon.