BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : APRIL 17, 2000 ISSUE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Motorola's Comeback The company is regaining its footing, but it was a long struggle JANUARY 1, 1997 Christopher B. Galvin, the grandson of the company's founder, becomes CEO. AUGUST, 1997 Apple Computer interim CEO Steve Jobs pulls the plug on licensing the Macintosh operating system to others. Motorola has to fold its clone operation. DECEMBER, 1997 Motorola's neglect of digital phones helps send its share of the worldwide wireless phone market from 51% in 1996 to 34% in 1997, according to Herschel Shosteck Associates. MARCH, 1998 Cellular-phone company PrimeCo boots Motorola in favor of Lucent for a $500 million contract for wireless network equipment. APRIL, 1998 First-quarter earnings plummet to half those of a year earlier, and Motorola warns that profits will remain below forecasts for several quarters. The stock plunges 11%, to 58. MAY 4, 1998 Motorola refocuses its money-losing semiconductor division on embedded chips with a new brand, Digital DNA. JUNE 4, 1998 Galvin says he will lay off more than 15,000 employees and take a $1.95 billion charge. This is part of a plan to cut costs by 4%, or $750 million. JULY 9, 1998 Motorola announces the restructuring of its disparate businesses into one unit called the Communications Enterprise headed by Merle Gilmore. JULY 21, 1998 Months behind its rivals, Motorola introduces a new lineup of phones, including digital handsets and a slim high-end phone, the V-series. AUGUST 6, 1998 After low morale in the network equipment business contributes to the defection of two top executives, Motorola hires Bo Hedfors, an industry veteran from rival Ericsson. OCTOBER, 1998 Iridium, the satellite system Motorola dreamed up, finally goes commercial after suffering a delay. JANUARY, 1999 Motorola loses its lead in the wireless phone market as its share for 1998 drops to 19.5%, behind Nokia's 22.5%, according to research-er Data-quest. FEBRUARY, 1999 Striving to improve its infrastructure business and prepare for the wireless Internet, Motorola enters alliances with Cisco and Alcatel to build next generation networks. APRIL, 1999 Net income increases 20% to $171 million for the first quarter, suggesting that Motorola's strategies are beginning to pay off. SEPTEMBER 15, 1999 Motorola makes its biggest acquisition ever, buying cable equipment maker General Instrument for $17 billion. The deal will help it sell more Net gear. OCTOBER 7, 1999 Motorola demonstrates its first mobile phone capable of browsing the Web. Major carriers including BT Cellnet sign contracts to buy the phones, such as the Timeport P7389. JANUARY, 2000 Motorola reports its best financial performance in more than eight quarters. Fourth-quarter operating profit hits $514 million, more than triple the previous year's mark, while sales climb 8% to $8.5 billion. FEBRUARY 28, 2000 Motorola partners with Amazon.com to put a bookmark on its Web phones and make them e-commerce devices. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS A New Company Called Motorola TABLE: Unfinished Business TABLE: Motorola's Comeback ONLINE ORIGINAL: Galvin on the New Motorola: "Fast, Smart, Quick, Agile--Go" INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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