Starz Aligning While Capital is Quiet

Liberty Starz (LSTZA) and Liberty Capital (LCAPA) reported largely uneventful second quarter earnings. Both stock still offer excellent value on an asset basis. LSTZA also has a solid underlying business producing moderate growth and significant free cash flow. LSTZA reported slightly better than expected second quarter results. Revenue rose 5% and EBITDA rose 6%. Subscribers […]

Les is More at CBS

Les is More! CBS delivered another outstanding quarter. Led by Les Moonves, CEO and President, CBS continues to put in by far the best performance of any media company. CBS reported EPS of 58 cents, well in excess of the 45 cents consensus. Revenues were just a bit ahead of expectations at $3.59 billion vs. […]

Mixed Results for Virgin Media

Virgin Media (VMED) reported mixed 2Q11 results. Financial performance matched expectations as revenue rose 2.2% and EBITDA gained 6.1%. The disappointment was on the subscriber side as overall subscribers fell slightly. Losses were seen in video, phone, and high speed data. Gross additions were not too bad but churn picked up. VMED’s leading broadband and […]

Another Apple Blowout as Emerging Markets Lead

Apple reported another blowout quarter. While that is never surprising, there was some reason to be concerned going into the quarter. Supply constraints have left uncertainty about the true level of iPad demand. Verizon iPhone sales have been good but not great. Pending product transitions including the new Lion operating system and iPhone5 could have […]

Google is a Growth Stock Again

The most important takeaway from Google’s (GOOG) second quarter 2011 results is that GOOG is still a growth company. This means that earnings in the future will be higher than Wall Street expects for a longer period of time. In turn, investors will now pay a higher P-E multiple for GOOG. These basic facts explain […]

Liberty Capital Makes a play for Barnes and Noble

Liberty Capital (LCAPA) is an asset play. The stock trades with the value of the assets it owns including 40% of Sirius XM (SIRI), a double digit stake in Live Nation Ticketmaster (LYV), and smaller holdings in a variety of publicly traded media and telecom companies. LCAPA also owns a few significant private assets including […]

CBS and Virgin Media Momentum Continues

CBS and Virgin Media (VMED), two of Northlake’s larger holdings thanks to excellent stock price performance, reported earnings a few weeks ago. Both companies reported good results supporting the higher stock prices and setting the stage for future gains. Entering the report, I was a little worried about VMED due to strict austerity measures in […]

Beat and Raise From Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications reported a strong 1Q11 and increased its full year guidance. Advertising growth picked up from the fourth quarter, aided by improved ratings performance in the US. The guidance increase indicates that there is no slowdown in sight for domestic advertising with the caveat that ratings at key networks (Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet) need […]

Apple Continues to Amaze

I again tweeted comments as Apple held their earnings call. As a reminder, I find that my instant reaction is most valuable as I subsequently read through analyst reports. It was another great quarter with iPhones and Mac laptops leading the way. iPads were supply constrained but management seems quite confident they are getting a […]

Google lays a sour egg just in time for Easter

Google (GOOG) shares are trading down 8% the day after reporting 2011 First Quarter earnings. EPS of $8.08 fell about a nickel short of the consensus of $8.13. Revenues of $6.54 billion were about $220 million ahead of estimates, growing 28% on an organic basis. Despite a tough comparison, this was the best revenue growth […]