Barron's wonders about Systemax

In a piece that will likely have reverberations in Monday's trading session, this week's Barron's raises questions (subscription required) about Systemax's (NYSE: SYX) accounting for rebates and possible disclosures at the computer maker that recently agreed to acquire CompUSA.

Consumers have been complaining loudly about TigerDirect, which is owned by Systemax, and its failure to pay the rebates on products it sells. TigerDirect accounts for more than 90% of the company's revenue.

Systemax declined to speak with the weekly, but according to the article, "The complaints fill Internet discussion forums, customer lawsuits and now, an active investigation by Florida's attorney general. Port Washington, N.Y.-based Systemax, however, has told investors nothing of this rebate ruckus. That's a shame, given that those disputed rebates might partly account for the unusually fat gross-profit margins shown by the company: At 16%, the gross margins are four or five percentage points higher than those of peers."

Barron's wonders whether the company should be disclosing the rebate mess in its SEC filings. It's hard to know what to make of Systemax's unwillingness to speak with Barron's -- perhaps they'll respond publicly if their stock gets knocked down on Monday.

Definitely a very interesting piece of reporting from Barron's, one of the few media outlets that still bothers to cover stuff like this.