News Corporation Looking Good

News Corporation (NWS) reported a very solid fourth quarter to wrap up a great fiscal 2007. Revenue and EBITDA rose 9% and 19%, respectively, with revenue comfortably beating estimates and operating income in line. The composition of operating income will please investors, however, as Cable Networks and Fox Interactive Media (MySpace) comfortably exceeded expectations offsetting […]

Cablevision Results Fall Short of Estimates

Cablevision (CVC) reported weaker than expected 2Q07 results and lowered 2007 guidance dealing another blow to the bull case for cable. Results were weak pretty much across the board with Telecom EBITDA and all subscriber metrics short of estimates. The only silver lining was lower than expected capital spending in thee quarter and a reduction […]

Box Office Strength Continues

It seems as though everyone is going to the movies to take their minds off the lousy stock market. The weekend box office rose 36% as The Bourne Ultimatum earned $70.1 million, the biggest ever opening for a movie in August and the 28th best opening weekend ever. Bourne also had a bigger opening than […]

Looking More Favorably on Dreamworks Animation

Paul Allen announced that he is dramatically reducing his remaining position in Dreamworks Animation. Following up on the sale of 12 million shares last November, Allen will now sell an additional 15-17 million shares leaving him with just 6 million shares. Of the shares to be sold, 10-12 million will be sold in a secondary […]

August 2007 Model Signals

There were no changes of Northlake’s Market Cap and Style models for August. The signals continue to be Large Cap and Growth. The large cap signal remains one of the strongest in the close to 400 monthly readings I have going back to 1980. The growth signal move from weak to solid this month and […]

Virgin Media Delays Sale

Virgin Media announced that it was delaying the sale of the company. The brief press release indicated that financial and strategic buyers continue to express interest but unfavorable debt market conditions make delaying a sale in shareholders best interests. On July 2nd, Virgin Media received a proposal to take the company private. The buyer was […]

Ukraine Shortfall Pressures CETV Despite Otherwise Great Results

Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) reported second quarter revenues and EBITDA above estimates. However, the composition of the results caused concern among investors leading to a sharp 5.4% decline in the stock on above average volume. I think investors overreacted and remain very bullish on CETV shares. I was adding to positions in some client […]

Disney Earnings Growth Continues Unabated

Disney (DIS) reported another strong quarter. EPS of 58 cents exceeded the 55 cent consensus estimate with revenues in line with expectations at $9.05 billion. The upside came from margins with Broadcasting being unusually strong with operating income up 127%. Cable Networks also had higher margins than analysts were expecting. The only shortfall was operating […]

Central European Media Enterprises Earnings Preview

Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) reports second quarter earnings tomorrow morning. CETV is the largest TV broadcaster dedicated to serving Central and Eastern Europe and owns leading TV stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, and Ukraine. CETV is a sizable US company controlled by Ronald Lauder and Apax Partners. The current market […]