Discovery Communications in Value Enhancing JV Ahead of 1Q Earnings Report

Ahead of its 1Q09 earnings report on Monday, Discovery Communications announced a joint venture and re-branding of its Discovery Kids Network. A 50/50 joint venture with Hasbro will lead a re-naming and re-programming of the U.S. network. Kids will continue to operate as is in international markets According to SNL Kagan, Kids currently reaches 63.4 […]

Comcast Beats Across the Board to My Surprise

Comcast reported better than expected 1Q09 results pretty much across the board. I completely missed this as I had expected this to be the final quarter of sluggish growth with estimates coming down again. I underestimated Comcast’s excellent operating management and favorable seasonal trends. It was clear after Time Warner Cable (TWC) reported yesterday that […]

Viacom Reports Inline But Stock Already Reflects Bottoming Trends

Viacom reported 1Q09 results largely in line with analyst estimates. EPS of 29 cents beat the 26 cent consensus but revenues of $2.91 billion fell a little short of the $2.97 billion estimate. Advertising trends were weak, as expected, but this still stands out as a negative particularly as Viacom’s nets are far underperforming the […]

Time Warner: Good Results and AOL Exit Drive Upside

Time Warner (TWX) reported better than expected 1Q09 results. Headline financial numbers of 35 cents, $6.95 billion in revenue, and $1.56 billion in EBITDA each exceeded estimates. On its own, the financial performance would have been enough to push the stock higher. However, news that an AOL spin has moved to the front burner added […]

Comcast Earnings Preview: Will estimates come down again?

Comcast reports 1Q09 results before the open on Thursday. Analysts expectations are for a mid single digit increase in revenue and EBITDA with strong free cash flow performance. Headline numbers should be 23 cents in EPS on revenues of $8.76 billion. Investors will be looking for two takeaways from the numbers and call. First, subscriber […]

Viacom Earnings Preview: Is Advertising Stabilizing?

Viacom is expected to report 1Q09 EPS of 26 cents on revenue $2.97 billion. Both figures produce negative year –over-year growth as the company struggles with weak ratings at its TV networks, higher programming expenses to fix the ratings, and continued lagging performance for its film studio. Despite bleak fundamentals, the stock has rallied sharply […]

Sold NII Holdings on Swine Flu Fears

I sold all Northlake positions in NII Holdings (NIHD) this morning in response to the threat that swine flu could have on the company’s business and reported financial results. The stock has rebounded about 60% off its low from a month ago as investors were beginning to again appreciate the strong organic growth profile of […]

Time Warner Earnings Preview: It’s All About Advertising Growth

Time Warner (TWX) reports its first quarter since completion of its restructuring on Wednesday morning. The company no longer owns cable systems and is not a content focused company with greater than 2/3rds of operating income coming from film and TV production and cable networks. Consensus estimates call for EPS of 38 cents, revenue of […]

NII Holdings: Skies are Clearing

NII Holdings reported better than expected 1Q09 earnings today. I have been torn on this stock for months, particularly since the company pre-announced lower than expected subscriber counts a couple of weeks ago. The quarter has pushed me to the bullish camp and I now plan to hold the shares. EPS of 43 cents beat […]

Another Blowout for Apple Supports More Upside

Apple reported another blowout quarter with revenues and gross margins far exceeding expectations and driving EPS to $1.33 vs. consensus of $1.09 and whisper numbers in the $1.15 to $1.20 range. Guidance is typically conservative and about 10% below current analyst estimates which is normal. There is really very little to complain about. In my […]