Media Madness for May 14, 2007

Lots of Madness in Mid-May following the completion of quarterly earnings season: • The Wall Street Journal speculates that a merger between the NBC Universal division of General Electric (GE) and Yahoo (YHOO) could be structured to help all concerned parties. GE would obtain a premium valuation for NBC and gain strategic benefits in selling […]

Solid Results for Viacom

Viacom (VIA) reported slightly better than expected 1Q07 results. Trends did not differ greatly from analyst expectations but the risk was to the downside so I think the results will be greeted favorably by investors and VIA shares will buck the sell the news reactions seen following good results from Disney (DIS) and News Corp.. […]

Another Good Quarter For Disney

Disney (DIS) reported very good 2Q07 results driven by strong margin performance across all five operating segments. Better profitability allowed EPS to easily exceed consensus estimates coming in at 44 cents, up 19%, vs. expectations of 38 cents, up 3%. Revenues fell very slightly short of estimates at $8.07 billion, $60 million short of estimates. […]

Taking Profits on Japan

Northlake clients have owned a position in Japan via the iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ) for over two years. Until yesterday that is. At the open, I sold the entire position. My opinion that Japan is exiting a multi-decade economic and stock market slump has not changed. Rather, with the market having been so strong, […]

Disney: Slowing Growth, High Expectations Raise The Bar

Margin expansion should propel Disney (DIS) to another quarter of greater than 10% growth in operating income when it reports 2Q07 results after the close on Tuesday. Revenue and EPS growth are only projected to grow in the low single digits due to tough comparisons. DIS has produced significant positive surprises in each of the […]

Warner Music: Might Be Stabilizing But No Upside

Warner Music Group (WMG) reported slightly better than expected 2Q07 results with revenues of $784 million and EBITDA of $96 million both soundly beating analyst estimates. Despite the big beat on these metrics, the source of the upside was not material relative to the challenges faced by the music industry. Upside in publishing and foreign […]

Spiderman 3 Spins A Massive Web

Spiderman 3 blew away the all-time opening weekend box office brining in $148 million in domestic box office. The old record was set last year by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest which grossed $135.6 million. Look for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End to be the new record holder when it opens […]

Good Quarter and Great Guidance From Central European Media Enterprises

1Q07 results and 2007 guidance from Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) are very positive. My bullish interpretation was further reinforced following the conference call and a quick read of the 10-Q. I think the guidance was the primary reason the shares moved up $5 yesterday. I am not done with my spreadsheet yet but I […]

Wrapping Up A Busy Week

I covered eight media earnings calls this week in addition to closing the books on the month of April and getting fresh updates on Northlake’s Market Cap and Style models. Total words written, including this post, are 10,006. I really don’t have much more to say so here are a few tidbits from one very […]

CBS 1Q07 Earnings: I Am Still A Seller

CBS (CBS) 1Q07 results were in line with estimates. EPS of 33 cents matched the consensus while revenues very slightly exceeded consensus. EBITDA fell a little short as margins at the TV segment were lower than expected despite better than expected revenue. I think the quarter will have little near-term impact on CBS shares. The […]