More Bad News On Comcast

Comcast reported disappointing 3Q07 results. More importantly, the tone of management comments about a number of issues was quite cautious and does not support their words supporting sustained double digit growth in revenue, EBITDA, and free cash flow. This quarter will further collapse the multiple and the shares are lower. Given the likely path of […]

Central European Media Enterprises Gains Option To Increase Ownership In Ukraine

The column I posted last week providing an overview of Central European Media Enterprises already requires updating. In it I mention that CETV was likely to increase its 60% ownership of Studio 1+1, the #2 TV station in Ukraine, within the next year. As it turns out late last week, the company took a major […]

An Overview of Central European Media Enterpises

Since I’ll be spending most of next week in Bucharest, Romania at the annual analyst meeting for Central European Media Enterprises (CETV), I thought an overview of this long-time favorite was in order. CETV is currently the largest position in Northlake client accounts and my personal accounts. CETV is the largest broadcaster in Central and […]

Pirates, Cars, and Rats

While preparing my fourth quarter box office preview column last week, I came across some interesting and positive data concerning Disney. One of the worries for Disney this year has been the tough comparison at the movie studio due to the phenomenal success last year of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead man’s Chest and Cars. […]

Trimming The Tree of Apple Profits

With the market ramping and Apple and other tech stocks leading the way, I sold a portion of Apple in many client accounts on Friday as it crossed $160. I completed sales only in accounts where the position size was pushing towards 4%. I have a detailed spreadsheet on Apple and no matter how much […]

NII Holdings Falls Sharply on Brazil News

Yesterday NII Holdings (NIHD), one of Northlake’s long positions, fell by more than 5% on huge volume. At one point in the morning the shares were off over 10%. NIHD operates Nextel service in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. I heard of several reasons for the sharp sell-off. Most of the concern centers on […]

Fourth Quarter Box Office Preview

Earlier today, I provided a brief wrap-up of the excellent third quarter performance of the box office which rose at least 15%. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2007, the comparison looks fairly easy although the lack of obvious mega blockbusters suggests only a moderate low to mid-single digit gain. For example, admissions revenue […]

Third Quarter Box Office Is A Blockbuster

The final totals are in on the third quarter box office and as I have chronicled the results are spectacular. According to data I pull from BoxOfficeMojo.com, the box office rose 15% in the third quarter. My spreadsheet goes back to 2004 and that is by far the best comparison for any quarter. The strength […]

October 2007 Model Signals

There are no changes to the signals from Northlake’s Market Cap and Style models for October. The market cap model continues to flash a strong signal in favor of large cap outperformance. The style model is now flashing its strongest signal since the late 1999/early 2000 market peak for growth stocks. To capitalize on the […]

Ukraine Elections Positive For Central European Media Enterprises

Ukraine held elections for the third time in four years over the weekend. The pro-Western block of parties that originally formed the Orange Revolution were the surprise winners by a slight margin. Former Prime Minster Yulia Tymoshenko’s party produced the upside surprise bringing in over 30% of the vote, possibly coming in first place. With […]