31.   Investors often are cool to stock acquisitions, which have the potential to dilute earnings per share.

32.   Investors might have reacted to fears that the extra shares would dilute earnings, said Kurt Kruger, health care analyst for Bank of America Securities in San Francisco.

33.   Issuing new shares will dilute the earnings per share of outstanding LTCB shares.

34.   Investors feared its two takeover offers would dilute its earnings per share.

35.   It said the acquisition will dilute its earnings in the short term.

36.   It said it called off the purchase of the hospice operator because it would dilute earnings next year.

37.   Kodak says the acquisition will not dilute its earnings, and will probably add to them after a year.

38.   New share sales dilute earnings per share.

39.   Oddo said the reorganization would likely be paid for in cash and would not dilute earnings per share.

40.   Robert Hoehn, another Salomon analyst, said the Prudential unit would dilute earnings for any buyer for at least a year.