La Quinta Driving Towards Capital Returns

La Quinta Holdings (LQ) reported strong results for 1Q15, beating street expectations on revenue and adjusted EBITDA. LQ raised the low end of their adjusted EBITDA guidance, reflecting management’s confidence that results for the rest of the year will continue to be strong. Shares of LQ responded positively and reached a new 52-week high the […]

Business as Usual is Good Business at Comcast

It is back to business as usual at Comcast (CMCSK) and investors have no reason to not like that.  The now scuttled acquisition of Time Warner Cable is definitely a lost opportunity but Comcast retains many strengths.  We always viewed the acquisition as a “nice to have” as opposed to a “need to have.”  Comcast’s […]

ClubCorp Acquistions Paying Off

ClubCorp (MYCC) reported another boring but efficient quarter.  Headline results were boosted by the acquisition of Sequoia Golf last year but growth in same club revenue of 2.8% and same club EBITDA of 8.6% were at least as good as expected.  Membership also continues its steady march higher with consistent 1% gains annually.  Northlake was […]

Disney Remains Driven By Popular Content

Disney (DIS) reported another great quarter, comfortably beating analyst estimates.  The song remains much the same with the power of Disney’s content engine driving growth through the company’s theme parks, TV networks, consumer products, and film studio.  With a seemingly can’t miss lineup of franchise films including Avengers, Star Wars, Ant Man, and two Pixar […]

Transitional Quarter for Liberty Global

Liberty Global (LBTYK) reported a sloppy set of 1Q15 results mostly explained by difficult comparison based on one-time items.  Management reiterated all of its 2015 guidance for revenue, operating cash flow (OCF), free cash flow (FCF), and subscriber growth.  Nevertheless, these results clipped the stock by 3% and it seems likely that the shares will […]

iPhone 6 Cycle Powers Apple: Now and In Future

Apple (AAPL) reported another strong quarter driven by the incredible success of iPhone6 and 6 Plus.  Not that long ago, the debate surrounding the iPhone was whether Apple needed a lower end phone to sell in emerging markets.  Apparently, the missing ingredient was larger screen sizes.  AAPL sold 61.5 million iPhones in the March quarter, […]

OK Google Quarter, Next One Could Be Crucial

Google (GOOG/GOOGL) shares responded favorably to its latest quarterly earnings report, rising over 3% on the first day of post-earnings trading.  The results were largely in line with Wall Street expectations, coming as a relief to many investors who feared worse due to difficult foreign exchange headwinds, slowing growth in search, and the shift in […]

La Quinta Holdings: Bigger In Texas, But Bigger Than Just Texas

La Quinta Holdings Inc. (LQ) is a new buy for Northlake clients. The company owns, operates, and franchises midscale and upper-midscale select-service hotels located in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. LQ currently trades at an attractive valuation in comparison to its peers, and has several potential catalysts that should help drive the stock to a […]

Liberty Media: Addressing the Discount

Liberty Media (LMCA/LMCK) reported an uneventful quarter.  Not much of a surprise given all the restructuring activity in the past six months as the company split into two, separating its 28% stake in Charter Communications into newly formed Liberty Broadband (LBRDA/LBRDK).  Northlake clients now own stock in both classes of stock at both companies. LMCA/LMCK […]

Comcast Performs Well Again Amid Regulatory Noise

Comcast (CMCSK) reported another good quarter with mid single digit growth in revenue and operating cash flow and double digit gains in free cash flow.  Leaving aside all the noise around net neutrality regulation and the regulatory review of the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, CMCSK is executing very well on a consistent basis.  Investors have […]