Name That Company

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in New York City, I help students and schools successfully handle standardized tests (such as the SAT, ACT, GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, GRE and USMLE) and admissions to college and graduate school. I offer classroom and online test preparation courses, private tutoring, and educational Web sites. My Embark management tools help universities process admissions and recruiting. I’ve also authored more than 190 print and software titles on everything from test preparation to summer internships to college ratings. I went public in 2001 and am valued at $225 million today. Who am I?

Last week’s answer: Maytag.

Know the answer? Send it to us with Foolish Trivia on the top and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a nifty prize! The address is Motley Fool, Box 19529, Alexandria, Va. 22320-0529. Send questions for Ask the Fool, Dumbest (or Smartest) Investments (up to 100 words), and your Trivia entries to Fool@fool.com.

Ask the fool: Losses per share

Should I avoid companies reporting increased losses per share instead of increased profits? — D.Y., Lawrence, Kan.

Maybe, but not necessarily. Companies sometimes make or spend a lot more in one year than another — perhaps because they’ve introduced a popular new product or have ramped up their research expenditures.

Imagine the young Wireless Pie Co. (ticker: WIPIE), which delivers pies electronically. Let’s say it lost about $20 million in 2002 and $60 million in 2003, though its revenues nearly doubled during the same period.

Some investors see numbers like this and run the other way, preferring to invest only in companies reporting steadily increasing profits. That makes a lot of sense. But those willing to take on more risk may buy, thinking that for emerging start-ups like WIPIE, this is the time when they should plow available money into advertising and growing the business. They reason that the time for profits is later, once the company has amassed a huge wireless pie-loving customer base.

By the way, we had some fun with an imaginary pie-topping company for one of our annual April Fools’ Day jokes. Click over to www.emeringue.com for some laughs.

Dumb investment: All that glitters

When I wanted to spice up my portfolio with some aggressive funds, my financial adviser recommended a mutual fund containing a gold-mining stock that was increasing rapidly in value (Bre-X Mining Co.). He had a fancy MBA degree, and I was an investing neophyte. So I relied on his expertise and bought. Soon after, Bre-X’s chief geologist “fell” out of the company helicopter into the Indonesian jungle they were surveying. It turned out that the company was salting core samples and there was much less gold in the ground than it had claimed. Share prices plummeted faster than the unlucky geologist. I learned that just because someone has an MBA or CFP after his name doesn’t mean he knows more than you about a certain company. — Glen Hays, Troy, Mich.

The Fool Responds: That’s very true. Few business schools offer courses in gold mining, after all. You can learn more about this famous case of corporate fraud in “Bre-X: The Inside Story” by Diane Francis ($25, Key Porter Books).