New York Times: Still Too Early

Maybe it is the redundancy of listening to my fourth newspaper conference call this earnings season but I found little of interest in the New York Times (NYT) earnings release or conference call. The company slightly exceeded its sharply reduced guidance, reporting 21 cents before adjustments against guidance of 15-20 cents. Revenue, expense, and margin […]

Knight-Ridder: Cheap But No Earnings Growth

Knight Ridder (KRI) reported results in line with reduced expectations following management’s lower guidance a month ago. Excluding unusual items EPS came in at 67 cents, down 18% from a year ago. Revenue was flat and shares outstanding were down about 10% so the problem in the quarter relative to its industry peers was on […]

An Exciting and Illuminating Week for Apple Computer

In the extended comments section at the bottom of this post is the commentary I wrote for StreetInsight.com immediately following Apple Computer’s conference call discussing its September quarterly earnings. As it turned out, I was right that the Street was overreacting when the shares were trading down 10% in after hours trading during the conference […]

E.W. Scripps: No Sign of Weakness Yet at Cable Networks

E.W. Scripps (SSP) reported earnings in line with consensus but stronger than I had been anticipating. I came quite close to buying October or November at the money puts yesterday but in the end I decided against. As noted in my preview comment, I have a growing concern that fundamentals of the cable network business […]

Tribune: Addressing Unique Issues But Industry Challenges Remain

Tribune (TRB) are up over 2% since reporting 3Q05 earnings and conducting a conference call on Thursday morning before the open. The key takeaway from the report and call is that TRB is putting its unique issues in the past and the company’s fortunes will begin to closely track the newspaper industry. Given poor trends […]

Gannett 1Q Results: Nothing To Get Excited About

Gannett (GCI) shares initially bounced about 1% off of depressed levels in response to the company’s 3Q05 earnings report before retreating to new lows as the market fell on Tuesday and Wednesday. The quarter was pretty much in line with expectations and no unexpected news came out on the conference call….

SBS Broadcasting Shareholders Approve Sale of Company

On Monday, SBS Broadcasting (SBTV) shareholders approved the deal to sell the company to private equity investors for 46 euros per share. According to the press release issued by the company, the deal is expected to close in late October. Sometime later this month, before final closing, the company will establish a record date for […]

Recent European M&A is Good News For Central European Media Enterprises

Consolidation in European media continues at a frantic pace. Last week, Liberty Global (LBTYA) announced its acquisition of leading Swiss cable company Cablecom. On Monday, NTL Incorporated (NTLI) and Telewest (TLWT) announced their long awaited merger. Additionally on Monday, shareholders of SBS Broadcasting (SBTV) approved the sale of the company to private equity investors for […]

NTL and Telewest Finally Announce Merger

The following entry appeared in its entirety on StreetInsight.com on October 5, 2005. NTL Incorporated (NTLI) and Telewest (TLWT) announced their long awaited and long overdue merger on Monday. The terms were about as expected with TLWT shareholders receiving value of almost $24 per share composed of $16.25 in cash plus .115 shares of NTLI. […]

My Take On The Merrill Lynch Downgrade of Apple Computer

I am not sure if it was the Merrill Lynch downgrade from buy to neutral or the iPod nano screen problems that led to the sharp decline in Apple Computer (AAPL) but the reaction was sharp with the shares dropping close to 5% on well above average volume. I’m no technician but the chart definitely […]