Will DVDs Bite An Otherwise Good Outlook for Dreamworks Animation?

Analysts and investors are rightly looking ahead to 2010 when deciding how to invest in Dreamworks Animation (DWA). The company has three films coming out next year including two originals and Shrek 4. 2009 is in the books and although Monsters vs. Aliens produced disappointing international box office and will not be a new franchise […]

Disappointing CETV Investor Day Delays Still Signifcant Recovery Potential

I attended Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) Investor Day in Prague on October 15th. The stock is presently not widely held by Northlake clients but I continue to monitor it closely as I strongly believe that when advertising growth returns to Central and Eastern Europe, the company’s results will have a V-shaped recovery and the […]

Plenty of Upside Left for Apple

I was on my to O’Hare airport last Monday when Apple reported its 4Q09 results. The conference call occurred while I was in the air on my way to New York for business meetings. It was the first earnings conference call I have missed since my first purchase of Apple stock for clients in early […]

Iniital Thoughts on Comcast-NBCU Merger

One of my most important reactions to breaking news or rumors is to get my thoughts down on paper. This allows me to organize my ideas, determine questions and get a handle on how the stock market may initially react to the news. I’ve written recently about how mergers and acquisitions have returned to the […]

Sold Half of CBS

On Monday, I sold half of Northlake’s positions in CBS in each account that holds the stock. My reasoning is that the stock has risen 80% since purchasing it just 7 weeks ago. This spectacular rise caused CBS positions to approach 4% of equity portfolios. That is a high threshold for me, especially in a […]

Confident CBS Predicts Strong Second Half Recovery

CBS reported 8 cents on revenue of $3.01 billion against consensus of 7 cents and $3.05 billion. EBITDA of $387 million was at the top of end expectations and includes about $20 million of what could be considered one-time charges. Most importantly to the outlook for the stock, the company maintained 2009 EBITDA guidance. Many […]

Discovery Communication Reports Another Positive Surprise

Discovery Communications reported another positive surprise, making it three straight quarters. Revenue matched expectations but superb performance on costs allowed EBITDA to come at $381 million vs. analyst estimates ranging from $341 million to $356 million. EPS were in line after adjusting for one-time but would have been higher if not for a high tax […]

Disney Quarter Shows Stability But No Improvement

Disney’s (DIS) third-quarter 2009 report looked a lot like its second-quarter 2009 report. Trends remain weak but are not getting any worse. EPS beat by a penny while revenue fell slightly short of expectations. The revenue miss led to CNBC headlines and a post-report sell-off in the shares, but the miss appears to emanate from […]

Good Quarter at Time Warner Goes Unrewarded

Time Warner reported a good 3Q09, beating expectations on most key metrics. EPS of 45 cents exceeded the consensus estimate of 37 cents. Revenues of $6.81 billion fell slightly short of consensus for $6.97. EBITDA was down just 2%, far ahead of expectations for a drop of 11-14%. The upside came in Networks and Filmed […]

Viacom’s Sequential Improvement in Advertising is Bullish

Viacom reported mixed 2Q09 results with adjusted EPS of 49 cents matching expectations on $3.3 billion in revenues, which were $200 million light of expectations. The revenue shortfall came from the Paramount movie studio and Rock Band which are less important aspects of the Viacom story. The company’s cable TV networks performed well in the […]