8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K


                                 CURRENT REPORT
                       PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF
                       THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



                                 October 3, 2000
                Date of Report: (Date of earliest event reported)



                    Computer Associates International, Inc.
               (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)



          Delaware                  1-9247                      13-2857434
(State or Other Jurisdiction     (Commission                   (IRS Employer
       of incorporation)         File Number)                Identification No.)



One Computer Associates Plaza, Islandia, New York                    11749
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)                           (Zip Code)

       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (631) 342-5224

                                 Not Applicable
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)



Item 5.  Other Events.

     On October 3, 2000 Computer Associates International,  Inc. (the "Company")
reported  preliminary  results for the quarter  ended  September  30, 2000.  The
Company expects operating earnings per share for the quarter ended September 30,
2000 will be between  $.50 and $.54 per  diluted  share,  excluding  acquisition
related  amortization  costs. The Company projects total contract value to be in
the range of $1.67 billion and $1.70 billion compared to $1.605 billion recorded
in the quarter ended September 30, 1999.

     Statements in this Item 5 contain  "forward-looking  statements"  under the
Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform Act of 1995.  There can be no assurances
that future results will be achieved, and actual results could differ materially
from forecasts and estimates.  Important factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially include: the significant percentage of CA's quarterly sales
consummated  in the last few days of the quarter  making  financial  predictions
especially  difficult  and  raising a  substantial  risk of  variance  in actual
results;   changes  in  industry  accounting  guidance;  the  emergence  of  new
competitive  initiatives resulting from rapid technological  advances or changes
in pricing in the market; the risks associated with new product introductions as
well as the uncertainty of customer acceptance of these new or enhanced products
from  either CA or its  competition;  risks  associated  with the entry into new
markets such as professional  services;  the risks  associated with  integrating
newly  acquired  businesses  and  technologies;  increasing  dependency on large
dollar licensing transactions; delays in product delivery; reliance on mainframe
capacity growth; the ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; business
conditions in the  client/server  and mainframe  software and hardware  markets;
uncertainty  and  volatility  associated  with  Internet and  eBusiness  related
activities;  use of  software  patent  rights to attempt  to limit  competition;
fluctuations  in  foreign  currency  exchange  rates  and  interest  rates;  the
volatility  of the  international  marketplace;  and other  risks  described  in
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Item 7.  Financial Statements, Pro Forma
         Financial Information and Exhibits.

         (a)      Not applicable
         (b)      Not applicable.
         (c)      Exhibits.

                           99.1     Press Release dated October 3, 2000.



                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly  caused  this  report  to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                         Computer Associates International, Inc.


Dated:   October 4, 2000             By:  /s/ Ira Zar
                                              Ira Zar
                                              Executive Vice President and Chief
                                              Financial Officer



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit No.                                Exhibit

         99.1     Press Release dated October 3, 2000.

EX-99.1

Contacts:
Yvette Gutierrez - Investor Relations              Bob Gordon - Public Relations
(631) 342-4078                                     (631) 342-2391
yvette.gutierrez@ca.com                            bobg@ca.com

Lisa Savino - Investor Relations
(631) 342-2788
lisa.savino@ca.com


       COMPUTER ASSOCIATES PLEASED WITH PRELIMINARY SECOND QUARTER RESULTS


     ISLANDIA, N.Y., October 3, 2000 - Computer Associates  International,  Inc.
(NYSE: CA) today reported  preliminary  results indicating that it expects total
contract value for the second  quarter  ending  September 30, 2000 to be between
$1.67 billion and $1.70 billion,  exceeding the $1.605  billion  recorded in the
second quarter of last year, and the $1.278 billion recorded last quarter. Total
contract value,  excluding the negative impact of foreign currency,  is expected
to be in the range of $1.705 to $1.735. CA expects operating earnings per share,
which  excludes the effect of  acquisition  amortization,  to be in the range of
$.50 to $.54.  Analysts'  expectations  varied widely due to market  uncertainty
with respect to the enterprise software marketplace.

     "We are very  pleased  with our  performance  given  the  current  business
environment," said Sanjay Kumar, CA's President and Chief Executive Officer. "As
preliminary  results  would  indicate,  the entire CA team  pulled  together  to
deliver  approximately  $400  million of  sequential  growth in  contract  value
quarter over  quarter.  Our software  products and services  continue to deliver
tremendous  value to customers  around the globe,  as more and more  enterprises
turn to CA to support their mission critical  eBusiness  requirements.  While we
are pleased with the progress  that we have made against our recovery  plan,  we
intend to stay focused on the challenges and opportunities that are ahead."

     CA emphasized that results are preliminary in nature and could vary when CA
reports final results on the evening of October 24, 2000.

     Computer  Associates  International,  Inc. (NYSE:  CA), the world's leading
business  software  company,  delivers the end-to-end  infrastructure  to enable
eBusiness through innovative technology,  services and education.  CA has 20,000
employees  worldwide and had revenue in excess of $6 billion for the fiscal year
ended March 31, 2000. For more information, visit www.ca.com.

     Statements in this release  concerning the Company's  future  prospects are
"forward-looking  statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995.  There can be no assurances  that future results will be achieved,  and
actual results could differ  materially from forecasts and estimates.  Important
factors  that could  cause  actual  results to differ  materially  include:  the
significant  percentage of CA's quarterly sales consummated in the last few days
of the quarter making financial  predictions  especially difficult and raising a
substantial risk of variance in actual results;  changes in industry  accounting
guidance;  the emergence of new  competitive  initiatives  resulting  from rapid
technological advances or changes in pricing in the market; the risks associated
with new product introductions as well as the uncertainty of customer acceptance
of these new or  enhanced  products  from  either CA or its  competition;  risks
associated  with the entry into new markets such as professional  services;  the
risks associated with integrating  newly acquired  businesses and  technologies;
increasing dependency on large dollar licensing transactions;  delays in product
delivery;  reliance on  mainframe  capacity  growth;  the ability to recruit and
retain  qualified  personnel;  business  conditions  in  the  client/server  and
mainframe software and hardware markets;  uncertainty and volatility  associated
with Internet and eBusiness related activities; use of software patent rights to
attempt to limit  competition;  fluctuations in foreign currency  exchange rates
and interest rates; the volatility of the international  marketplace;  and other
risks described in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.