Just a quick follow-up to my earlier post about AOL and Time Warner (TWX). AOL did not come though on the ad line as I thought might occur. I still believe we will see strength in 4Q when AOL.com really launches but for now the push-pull between subscriber loss and advertising growth is too large […]
Given the critical role that AOL will play in the perception of TWX’s quarter I wanted to mention an interesting piece of research Bernstein put out last week about advertising revenue at the MSN division of Microsoft (MSFT). I switched to a bullish position on TWX in September based primarily on my belief that the […]
Viacom (VIA) reported slightly better than expected that 3Q05 earnings although almost all the excess was earned in the volatile and difficult to predict Entertainment division. Earnings came in at 47 cents against estimates of 45 cents. The company incurred $58 million in one-time expenses related to the split, hurricanes, and an impairment charge. Applying […]
Charter Commications (CHTR) reported mixed results for 3Q05 with EBITDA falling short of expectations while subscriber metrics showed better than expected growth in new services. The company also announce settlement of a dispute over some shares held by Paul Allen in a subsidiary. To be completely honest, I was unable to decpiher the press release […]
Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) broke a long string of losing days yesterday, rising 4%, or $1.77, to $46.49. The company reports earnings before the open on Wednesday but the trigger for Monday’s advance was more likely the announcement that the company has increased its stake in its Slovakian operation and gained control of the […]
Viacom (VIA/VIAb) reports before the open on Tuesday. Most investors are looking ahead to the split of the company that will occur at year end but this report could provide some insights on how the two new parts may perform right out of the chute as this is probably the last report as a combined […]
Charter Communications (CHTR) shares had a wild ride in the third quarter, falling to less than $1.00 in July, rising to $1.60 in August on the announcement of an exchange offer for company debt, and peaking at $1.80 in September on the announcement that the exchange offer was heavily oversubscribed. Since then, however, the shares […]
Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) rose almost 4% on Monday, enjoying its best day since early September when it popped 10% in four days to $10.60 on the back of reports of insider buying by about a dozen top executives. Since then the shares have pulled back steadily, reaching a closing low of $8.36 last Thursday. […]
In my recent reading of Street research on traditional media companies I have noticed two trends. First, analysts are beginning to adjust their multiples downward in their sum of the parts valuation multiples, finally reflecting the actual trading multiples of media stocks in the current market environment. Analysts are really just catching up to the […]
Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) shares have pulled back 10% since early October and about 15% since peaking in September. I think the current pullback will prove temporary with the company’s early November earnings report providing a positive catalyst. 3Q results won’t be exciting due to seasonally weak TV viewing in the summer but I […]
