Time Warner: Relatively Good Earnings But Murky Outlook

Given the circumstances, Time Warner (TWX) reported decent 4Q08 results and provided better than expected guidance. However, to be perfectly honest, there are so many charges and related future cost savings that it is very difficult to tell whether guidance for “about flat” results in 2009 fairly reflects underlying operating trends. I fear that guidance […]

Time Warner 4Q08 Earnings Preview

Time Warner effectively preannounced 4Q08 results when it updated its guidance for 2008 last month. The guidance brought 2008 EBITDA to a gain of just 1% but several items were legitimately one-time so the headlines off the guidance update were more negative than management intended. Underlying growth in 2008 is probably closer to 3% which […]

CETV Update

CETV shares are approaching their November low including a 2-day drop of over 20% last Thursday and Friday. I received a bunch of emails asking for an update. CETV has been closely tracking currency. As the euro and CEE currencies weaken the stock goes down. The December rally (more than a double) coincided with those […]

Apple Acting Better

Apple is now up about 10% this year and almost 20% from just before it reported its December quarter. I think there a few things at work and that the stock still has “all clear” for another 60 days. That means I think AAPL can be a market leader and outperform the market over that […]

Apple Comes Through

I have to admit a sense of great relief following Apple’s December quarter earnings. The numbers were great and guidance for the March quarter was much better than feared. A lot of stocks I like, including Apple, are really struggling and it makes me question my analysis. In this case, I got it right and […]

Dreamworks Animation is Relative Safety in Media

There seems to be no place in media to hide as estimates continue to fall and no signs of recovery in advertising or other key revenue drivers is apparent. One stock that largely avoids the potholes in media is Dreamworks Animation. The company is vulnerable on DVD sales but has no advertising exposure. In the […]

Apple Exits MacWorld

I believe the reporting of Apple’s withdrawal form MacWorld after 2009 and Jobs lack of appearance this year was misreported. There is little doubt that it had a major negative impact on Apple shares, however. Here is my take on the situation. The stock reacted very negatively to the MacWorld announcement, immediately falling about $4 […]

The Dark Knight Can Sell DVDs

The Dark Knight debuted strongly on DVD selling 3 million units on its first day. This should be good news for Time Warner although that is mostly because it was not a disappointment. The very top DVD titles continue to sell reasonably well. It is the group just beyond the top ten and the catalog […]

CETV Presents at UBS Media Conference

Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) presented on Monday morning at the 36th Annual UBS Media and Telecom Conference in New York City. The presentation appears to be contributing to a rebound in the shares which are up 13% today to their highest price since mid-November. Also contributing to the rally has been modest strength in […]

Why You Should Own Time Warner

Time Warner (TWX) is one of the world’s leading entertainment companies. The company owns AOL, 84% of Time Warner Cable (TWC) , Warner Brothers, HBO and a leading stable of cable networks including TNT, TBS and CNN. Time Warner also still owns its iconic magazine titles including Time, People and Sports Illustrated. In early 2009, […]