TWX is undervalued, says CEO

Posted May 22nd 2006 1:50PM by Anne Metz
Filed under: Forecasts, Time Warner (TWX)

Richard Parsons is one optimistic dude. The Time Warner CEO gave a positively rosy-hued speech at last week's shareholders meeting in Atlanta, with the reassuring statement that "our company is clearly undervalued."

Among other plans, Parsons believes he can rejuvenate AOL by increasing revenue from online advertising (some of our BloggingStocks readers, meanwhile, seem to think that AOL's "certified" email program is also part of the plan to jump-start AOL).

And while he's made some bold moves -- slashing some 2,400 jobs, for instance -- the stock has remained relatively static.

Is it just me, or is Parsons' cheerfulness a bit like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic? Or is it rather -- in Stephen Colbert's famous phrase -- like shuffling chairs on the Hindenberg?

Tags: AOL, Hindenberg, Richard Parsons, RichardParsons, stephen colbert, StephenColbert, Time Warner, TimeWarner, Titanic, TWX

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-23-2006 @ 3:44PM

JDaggitt said...

As for Parsons' view that TWX is undervalued:

1) It is a wee bit arrogant for Mr. Parsons to continue to espouse this view. Perhaps he has yet to notice, that the only audience that matters is the investing public and they obviously feel that TWX is fairly valued at the current price.

2) Wouldn't it be a more worthwhile endeavor for Mr. Parsons to provide some objective reasons why he feels that company is undervalued. I like they way that CNN is now the most trusted network, rather than the most watched. Last time I checked advertisers don't pay for credibility, but eyeballs.

3) If Mr. Parson's truly believed that TWX was undervalued, wouldn't he be adding to his personal portfolio? I can assure you that Mr. Parsons is not buying stock at this price or any other price except when he's exercising stock options that are in the money.

Don't get me wrong, Mr. Parsons served as a great stabilizing force when TWX was being hammered in the wake of the SEC investigation and various lawsuits. That doesn't, however, mean that he has the vision to guide the company into the future.