ClubCorp Story Still Intact

ClubCorp (MYCC) shares were cut in half in the first 8 weeks of 2016 as investors grew concerned about the company’s exposure to Texas.  Approximately 30% of MYCC’s country clubs are in Texas with 8% in Houston.  A second part of the problem was an extremely negative research report issued by a broker that emphasized […]

Liberty Media Making Moves to Drive Value

Liberty Media (LMCA/LMCK) reported quarterly results last week and as usual the focus was on the company’s portfolio of assets.  Liberty trades in relation to its net asset value rather than its earnings and cash flow like most stocks. There were three interesting pieces of news from the press release and conference call.  First, Liberty […]

Liberty Global Clears The Air for Renewed Growth

Following a rough stretch that management described as a perfect storm, Liberty Global (LBTYK) had some good news today.  First, 4Q15 earnings met expectations with 4% adjusted revenue growth and 6% adjusted operating cash flow growth.  This marked the second consecutive quarter of accelerating growth after a below par 1H15, exactly as management had promised.  […]

Patience To Be Rewarded for Well Positioned CBS

After a year of negative operating income growth and falling earnings estimates, CBS is back on track.  The recently reported 4Q15 showed operating income growth of over 6% and for the first time in nearly two years, analysts maintained their earnings estimates.  2016 sets up very well for CBS with a stronger national TV adverting […]

Steady as She Goes At Comcast

Comcast continued its long string of good quarterly earnings reports with the highlight being the best cable TV subscriber growth in nine years.  Yes, for all the worry about cord cutting, Comcast added subscribers in 2015.  And growth in broadband subscribers, where Comcast and the cable industry maintain dominance with the fastest network continued unabated. […]

Activision Blizzard Hits a Bump in the Road

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) reported disappointing quarterly results with revenue, earnings, and guidance all worse than expected. The shortfall in the fourth quarter was driven by unfavorable foreign exchange rates and weakness in ATVI’s casual franchises on consoles, Skylanders and Guitar Hero. The underwhelming guidance for next year was mainly due to a delayed release […]

ESPN Concerns Trump Star Wars and Theme Parks For Now

Disney (DIS) reported excellent December quarter earnings driven the massive success of Star Wars.  Star Wars not only drove the studio but also boosted consumer product sales.  Theme parks also had a very strong quarter.  Despite a big beat to consensus EPS estimates, investors focused on slightly disappointing growth in affiliate fess earned by DIS’s […]

Facebook Offers Opportunity After Good Earnings

Facebook (FB) is a new buy for Northlake clients. The social networking giant operates its original namesake product, as well as other widely used and fast-growing services including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. The company’s most recent quarterly results demonstrate strong user engagement and strong ad sales trends. This momentum is largely due to FB’s successful […]

Core Google Shows Accelerating Growth

Alphabet (GOOG/GOOGL) reported excellent 4Q15 results.  Revenue trends accelerated for the second consecutive quarter and operating profit margins expanded.  It appears that Google is finally benefitting from the transition to mobile internet.  There have been long standing concerns about whether search on mobile could maintain its high growth rate and profitability.  The worries related to […]

New Large Cap Signal for February as Growth Stays Ascendant

Northlake’s Market Cap model flipped from Mid Cap to Large Cap for February.  As a result, client positions in mid cap were sold and the proceeds reinvested into the large cap S&P 500 (SPY).  Current mid cap positions that were sold included both the S&P 400 Mid Cap SPDR (MDY) and the iShares S&P 400 […]