Consolidation--The Juggernaut Hits the Wall

"Each acquisition should be evaluated on its own merit," agrees Thompson, "and if one continues to make accretive acquisitions, shareholder value will continue to grow. The mistake that must be avoided is to not allow the company to begin overpaying for acquisitions or otherwise getting away from its proven discipline just to get bigger. In the end, this will never work. We must resist the temptation to acquire without a thorough and objective evaluation, just to satisfy the clamor from Wall Street for more growth. The industry needs to do a better job of managing the expectations of Wall Street to a level of growth that is impressive, but achievable, rather than trying to meet the ever-increasing, quarterly earnings estimates generated by the analysts."