FeedPosted Feb 4th 2011 10:00AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Viacom (VIA), Media World
Viacom's (VIA.B) B shares sold off on Thursday following the distribution of the media conglomerate's fiscal Q1 numbers. It's a shame. The stock has been doing really well, as can be seen by this chart. It would have been good if the shares had rallied with the data. That's all right. Even though the equity closed down almost 1% to $43.55 on active volume, it's still not too far away from the 52-week high of $45.29.
Is the price action a signal to sell? Well, I can't say I was blown away by the earnings news. According to the corporate release, adjusted profit from continuing businesses went down 11% to $1.02 per share. Okay, fine, a drop was already on the radar. In fact, the Associated Press says that the bottom line was four pennies ahead of the forecast.
Continue reading Viacom Sells Off After Q1 Earnings Report
Posted Feb 3rd 2011 9:00AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World
News Corp. (NWS) issued its fiscal second-quarter report on Wednesday after the bell. The stock rose 2.5% to $17.51 on active volume by the end of the regular session. The reaction in the after-hours session was, to be honest, dreadfully boring. The shares finished up fractionally to $17.55 at the conclusion of that trading period. Guess the market wasn't too impressed by the earnings news; either that, or it figured that the rise before the posting of the numbers was good enough.
According to the corporate press release, adjusted net income calculated out to 29 cents per share in Q2. That was four pennies above the year-ago profit. Marketwatch says that the 29-cent figure was one penny ahead of the overall estimate.
Continue reading News Corp. Earnings: Growth in Adjusted Q2 Profit
Posted Jan 31st 2011 5:30PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS), Media World

Time Warner Inc. (
TWX) will be reporting fourth-quarter numbers on Wednesday, February 2. How is the stock looking ahead of the release?
The main point about the shares to me is that they are in a tight range. The 52-week low is $26.74 while the 52-week high is $34.07. The
chart is an up-and-down affair as you might expect. While there definitely have been multiple opportunities at making money with this idea, I wonder how many investors tend to think of it as a great long-term vehicle. I know I don't. Time Warner, to me, is one I would trade instead of own at this point.
Continue reading Time Warner Set to Report Q4 Earnings
Posted Dec 31st 2010 10:00AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: CBS Corp 'B' (CBS), Technical Analysis, Media World
CBS (CBS) has had a great year. Take a look at the twelve-month chart. Sure, it wasn't a straight line up, but the price action in the stock indicates potential confidence in the business on the part of Wall Street institutions. Many investors are certainly wondering how this idea will fare in 2011.
The shares have bounced between a relatively narrow range. The 52-week low is $12.26; the 52-week high is $19.65. On Thursday, the stock closed with a quote of $19.05. Volume, as you might expect, was very low, which is typical at this time of year.
Continue reading CBS: Is the Broadcaster a Buy?
Posted Dec 8th 2010 9:30AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Products and Services, Media World, Technology
Do you remember the battle of the pop-ups? Now we have a new, but rather different problem. Advertisers use tracking devices to follow a customer's moves throughout the Internet. The aim is to pinpoint the customer's needs and purchases with the hope of capturing more business.
And as with pop-ups, customer complaints are growing. Customers resent being tracked and consider it an invasion of their privacy. The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft has taken the lead by adding a "Tracking Protection" tool that will allow users to prevent being tracked by small text files called "cookies." It will be included in Internet Explorer 9.
Continue reading Microsoft Adds 'Tracking Protection' to Its New Browser
Posted Dec 1st 2010 5:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Internet, Walt Disney (DIS), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World
According to an item highlighted by TheFly, it appears as if News Corp. (NWS) may be interested in selling MySpace. There are no guarantees, of course, but I'll tell you this: I hope a sale happens. And the sooner the better.
Sure, in theory, MySpace was a great acquisition. It was the hot destination on the web for a while. Reality, however, has a way of interfering with even the best ideas. The Internet can evolve very quickly; CEOs need to be extremely cautious about what they decide to buy when they are playing this part of the media game.
Continue reading Will News Corp. Make the Right Decision Concerning MySpace?
Posted Nov 16th 2010 5:30PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Deals, Good news, Products and Services, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Media World, Technology
There are definitely a lot of happy Beatles fans out there today, as Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced that it would finally be selling Beatles material through its iTunes store.
Fans have been waiting, not-so-patiently, for this to happen for years now, and today it has finally arrived. Apple wrote on its website that "In 1964, the band that changed everything came to America. Now they're on iTunes."
Continue reading Apple Finally Starts Selling Beatles Songs Through iTunes
Posted Nov 12th 2010 9:30AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Walt Disney (DIS), Media World
Disney (DIS) was higher by 1.8% to $36.56 at one point during Thursday's extended-hours session. At first glance, you might have believed, as I did, that the buying represented the immediate response to the fiscal fourth-quarter report, which was scheduled to come out after the market shut down for the day.
However, as this Forbes article highlights, the release came out earlier than expected, causing the stock to close down 2.8% by the conclusion of the regular session, presenting a very interesting scenario for the traders who were quick to react to the situation.
Continue reading Disney Down, Then Up, Following Earnings Release
Posted Nov 10th 2010 5:30PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World

The Walt Disney Company (
DIS) will report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday, November 11. This company is a big long-term holding for me, and if you've read anything I've ever written on the media conglomerate, you'll know that I haven't been too happy with it. Over the years, the stock just hasn't done as well as I thought it would do, not only in terms of capital appreciation, but also as it relates to dividend growth. On both counts, I'm thoroughly disappointed, but I'm particularly displeased with the dividend aspect. Sure, the shares have been a good trade at times, but when you've been an owner since 1998, like I have, the overall picture isn't one to be looked at with admiration.
So, I come up to yet another quarterly report. I enjoy reading them, but I'm not always satisfied with the reaction of the stock once the release has come and gone. What am I hoping for this time around? Please, Wall Street, buy this stock and push it past the 52-week high of 37.98! Is that too much to ask?
Continue reading Disney Set to Report Q4 Earnings
Posted Nov 8th 2010 9:30AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, General Electric (GE), Walt Disney (DIS), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World
CBS (CBS) reported third-quarter earnings last Thursday after the bell. On Friday, the shares closed down 3.7% to $17.01. The 52-week high for the stock is $18.20. Although the one-year chart doesn't show a smooth uptrend, it does indicate that the shares have exhibited a certain amount of strength. But does the sell-off on Friday, which was backed by strong volume, tell us that the stock should be avoided?
I've been cautious about this company. I have to admit, though, that it delivered a decent Q3. The press release says that adjusted profit jumped 40% to 35 cents per share. According to the Associated Press, that figure beat projections by four pennies. The AP article also mentioned something not so surprising: advertising dedicated to political races helped the period.
Continue reading CBS: Buy or Sell After Q3?
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