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Abstract
Armando Geday, CEO of GlobeSpan Inc. seems strangely unaffected the day after reporting a 1st-quarter loss of $89 million - and writing down almost $50 million in excess inventory. Sales for the Red Bank, NJ-based company have slumped 17% compared to the previous quarter, he concedes, its largest customers have been cancelling orders precipitously, and nearly every day the news brings reports of GlobeSpan's direct or indirect customers suffering painful losses - even declaring bankruptcy. Several of GlobeSpan's biggest customers, which traditionally account for the bulk of its sales, have accumulated 3-5 months' worth of excess inventory that needs to be either used up or discarded before sales growth resumes. Yet amid all this financial carnage, Geday remains surprisingly upbeat about the prospects for his young fabless semiconductor company. Sitting in his modest 2nd-floor office in early May, he seems a bit tired, but otherwise confident that nothing but upside lies ahead for GlobeSpan, and the digital subscriber line industry to which it supplies crucial chip technology.