New Century Financial Corp.: A New Shade of Blue Chip?

Well if going belly-up and getting delisted is the new shade of blue chip stock I'll stick with the old! Howard just passed along a screen capture of a page on New Century Financial Corporation's (NEW) website that talks about them being a "new shade of blue chip. Oddly enough, they've taken the page off of their site, but they can't hide from the Google cache Here's the text of that page (emphasis is mine):

"Blue chip" is the nickname for a company that is generally viewed as being in excellent financial shape, firmly entrenched as a leader in its field, having quality products and delivering long-term shareholder and customer value. Blue chip companies generally pay dividends on their stocks and are favorably regarded by investors.

Like traditional blue chips, New Century Financial Corporation has had excellent performance in comparison to its competitors with consistent and strong financial performance. Over the past three years, annual revenue has more than tripled, earnings-per-share has grown significantly and quarterly loan production has increased.

As a "New Shade of Blue Chip," New Century seeks to modernize the traditional view of "blue chip." New Century aims to generate consistent results like traditional blue chips, while putting strong emphasis on the way these results are achieved. At New Century Financial Corporation, we are committed to acting with integrity, forging relationships with partners based on trust and living up to our promises.

New Century is the first of a new breed of companies.

New Century Financial Corporation

"A New Shade of Blue Chip"

If I were Jeff Matthews, I'd now write something like "I Am Not Making This Up" :-)