In a very unusual note for an earnings outlook, DoubleClick - in the midst of reporting decent revenues and profits for the last quarter of 2004 - told investors that it had already baked into its Q1 2005 estimates the expectation that it will have to pay for the short-term golden parachutes it laid out for top executives. The firm said its profit forecasts "does include the impact of retention bonuses and professional fees related to the Company's strategic review announced October 31, 2004." That package of retention bonuses included the payment of about $1,000 a day for senior executives to stick around, with hundreds of thousands of dollars to be paid if they get fired or squished out in an acquisition. DoubleClick did not break out its expected expense numbers in a way that made it possible to determine whether it accounted for only the sticking-around money or whether it baked into its figures the expectation that the executive team will be pushed out. The golden parachutes were designed to be valid for only nine months, a period that extends through June 2005.