Another quarter has come and gone for telecommunications expert Verizon (VZ). And with it, another opportunity for management to flaunt its cash-generation abilities. Earnings may be down, but I've said it before and I'll say it again here: When Wall Street thinks Verizon, it thinks attractive dividend yield.

On an adjusted basis, the company made 54 cents per share in the fourth quarter. This was seven cents less than last year's income figure. Unfortunately, it was also a penny below expectations, according to our earnings preview.

Continue reading Verizon's Q4 Profit Declines, but Cash Generation Is Still Okay

Verizon's Q4 Profit Declines, but Cash Generation Is Still Okay originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Verizon: It's hard to beat modest growth with safety

Verizon: It's hard to beat modest growth with safety originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

That wasn't a big deal, though. The free cash covered both the dividend and the monies used to repurchase shares. In fact, Reuters reported that the buyback activity in the quarter represented a resumption of the program. We can take that as a positive sign of confidence from management.

Continue reading Comcast tops projections in Q2, keeps free cash flow steady

Comcast tops projections in Q2, keeps free cash flow steady originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ) reported Q1 earnings on Monday, and they didn't disappoint. The telecommunication entity said it earned $0.63 per share on an adjusted basis. Okay, the growth wasn't so great. The company earned an adjusted $0.61 per share in the year-ago period. But you know the game: it's all about expectations. So, on that count, Verizon was ahead by four pennies, according to this database.

But the Verizon story isn't just about earnings. It's also about cash flow. Net cash from operations increased 19% to $6.4 billion. Free cash flow more than doubled to $2.7 billion. Verizon is a well-known dividend-paying stock, so shareholders definitely want to see good cash flows.

Continue reading Verizon beats in Q1, brings in the cash

Verizon beats in Q1, brings in the cash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Choose Verizon (VZ), if you're just as cautious as its subscribers

Choose Verizon (VZ), if you're just as cautious as its subscribers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Make no mistake, this news about Disney XD should be important to shareholders (I am one, and will be watching this rebranding investment intently). That's the new name of the Disney Toon channel. Sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? Disney wants it to be cool so that it can appeal to boys. And that's the crux here: Disney Channel already has the girls market cornered. The Mouse wants to become more relevant to the male tween demographic. Don't think that the media company can't appeal to boys. It can, as the oft cited Cars example proves (I have no idea why that Pixar creation is such a hit with boys, but it doesn't matter what I think, it is). A major push is planned for XD, and the web will be utilized to great effect, as will Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes digital store and Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360 Live service (this source talks about the strategy). Content will be distributed over these platforms and will be used to build brand equity; Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS will also be utilized to promote XD.

Continue reading Can Disney find the "X" factor for XD?

Can Disney find the "X" factor for XD? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cable entity Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) had a kicking third quarter. A look through the press release shows a string of double-digit growth rates. Can't complain about that in a distressed economic period. Revenues, operating cash flow, and free cash flow really shined. Adjusted earnings per share increased 33% to $0.24.

According to this article, the bottom line beat expectations by two pennies. However, that article also contained a bit of a bearish take on Comcast's quarter from an analyst. I don't know, I thought Comcast did a decent job considering the recession. There's no question that the business will be affected by the slowdown and the bad housing market. I concede that. But, given that management is maintaining its outlook for revenue and operating cash flow growth, I just don't feel bearish on the stock from a longer-term perspective. And let's think about this. If digital content distribution is destined to be the wave of the future, won't Comcast be a major player in that wave? I would think it would be. Don't get me wrong, it has competition to contend with. You've got Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and its FiOS product, DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) and its satellite offerings, etc. Comcast and its Internet/phone services have had great success in terms of resonating with subscribers. The company is doing well, in my opinion, of building valuable brand equity for itself.

And keep in mind that content providers such as Disney (NYSE: DIS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), and Sony (NYSE: SNE) will always find it to their advantage to work with Comcast on hatching new distribution avenues for content, a fact that will provide further growth opportunities for the cable company. As an example, Comcast, with partners Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF) and Sony, is involved with the Fearnet horror channel. Yes, I would definitely say that Comcast is going to increase its reputation as a player in Hollywood. And that should be good for the stock.

Disclosure: I own Disney; positions can change at any time.

Comcast's Q3 should please investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Why I have changed my tune about Comcast

Why I have changed my tune about Comcast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• 1.5 million net customer additions for the wireless business;
• Wireless churn of 1.12%, 0.83% retail post-paid churn;
• 11.8 percent increase in total revenues; data revenues up 45.3%
• 176,000 net new FiOS TV customers and 187,000 net new FiOS Internet customers

Can Verizon keep it up? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) says that Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) is lying in its advertising. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Verizon says that Time Warner Cable's ad implies FiOS requires a satellite dish for TV service and that it isn't able to bundle together high-speed Internet, video and phone calls."

The problem, of course, is much deeper than one ad. Verizon has spent $23 billion to put fiber in front of its 18 million customer homes. In the process it hopes it can take TV and high-speed Internet customers away from cable companies and satellite TV firms. If the product does not do well, there will be hell to pay in the Verizon executive suite.

Cable company stocks have fallen over the last three quarters, to a large extent due to the fear that they now have real competition for packages for voice, TV, and broadband, known fondly as the "triple play". Verizon does not have to get a huge number of cable customers to switch to do some real P&L damage. Early indications are that consumers like the fiber service. Because it can deliver more bandwidth it can offer larger numbers of HD channels.

The court fight over the ad makes for nice newspaper copy, but the real fight ends up being one for shareholder value. Time Warner Cable's stock is down 30% in the last year.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Verizon (VZ) and Time Warner Cable (TWC) go at one another originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I've been hearing more and more about Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS products. I'm sure you've heard about them too -- you can get very fast broadband connections and TV services via fiber-optic technologies. They are meant to compete with cable companies such as Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), as well as satellite entity DirecTV (NYSE: DTV).

Now comes word of an interesting deal involving a large apartment complex in New York City. According to this press release, Verizon will be supplying its FiOS broadband service to denizens of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. This is a significant accomplishment for Verizon, to be certain, since there are 110 buildings in the complex. Verizon is counting on FiOS to be an important driver of its business going forward. Reading through the press release, I do have to say that the speed potentials do sound impressive, and that the residents of this complex have something to look forward to -- I should point out, though, that I've never tried FiOS. Still, I do know someone who has the service, and from what I hear, it's pretty satisfactory, to say the least. As an interesting example, FiOS at its optimum speed level could download a movie 90 minutes in length in a little over three minutes. Now that's fast!

Verizon's FiOS scored an impressive deal here, and it will be interesting to see how many more transactions of this type the company will successfully execute. And you know what's pretty neat about Verizon? Unlike the competitors mentioned here, Verizon has a rather juicy dividend yield to go along with its broadband-content distribution model -- about 4.6% as of yesterday's close. FiOS and dividends -- it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned here; positions can change at any time.

Verizon continues to make waves with its FiOS brand originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ)'s new fiber-to-the-home FiOS broadband product is supposed to deliver faster internet speeds than cable. It has a full menu of TV and movies and is a very good service for about the same price as cable.

But a service is only as good as its customer service. A few weeks ago Verizon said it was low on HD set-top boxes. That ultra-clear picture was one of the things that the company was pitching as a competitive advantage. Some customers who signed up couldn't use it.

Now word has come out that the free Sharp TVs that Verizon is giving out to new customers are in short supply.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "The company alerted customers through letters that they will have to wait 10 to 15 weeks -- five weeks longer than previously promised -- for their sets." While every new service has some problems, the Verizon product competes with both cable and satellite TV products. Customer satisfaction has to be critical to not only getting new subscribers but also keeping them.

Maybe someone should have stopped by the warehouse and counted those TVs before the company started that promotion.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Verizon's (VZ) high-speed customers lose the signal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ)'s roll-out of HDTV and broadband with its fiber-to-the-home product looked so promising. It even got shareholders in cable companies nervous. They were worried that the phone company would start to take away their digital cable TV customers.

All of that was looking very good for Verizon until it started to run out of the set-top boxes that make the HDTV system work in homes. As if things were not bad enough for Motorola (NYSE: MOT), it looks like the company's set-top operation may be at fault. The Wall Street Journal says ,"a Motorola spokeswoman confirmed that demand for the HD set-top box was 'strong and has exceeded expectations. We are pleased with this positive response and we are working closely with our suppliers to ensure that we meet the needs of our customers as quickly as possible.'"

What a lot of bull. While the market may never know where the mix-up was, Verizon certainly knows how many customers it plans to add and its inventory of boxes. Motorola knows what the demand is across its customer base and whether its manufacturing can handle the load.

Either way, Verizon has given its competition a gift. Who wants high-speed wiring that won't work with the TV?

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Verizon (VZ) hits an HDTV wall: Motorola (MOT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Comcast a 'slacker stock' no more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cable stocks have fallen sharply and most trade near 52-week lows, but that is not keeping short sellers from continuing to believe that they could go lower. The short interest in Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR) went up on December 14 compared to November 30 according to data from Nasdaq.

The slide in cable shares began around mid-year, when comments from Comcast indicated that the new TV-over-fiber products from telecom companies like Verizon (NYSE: VZ) were starting to take cable customers. Up until recently, cable was able to market voice, TV,and broadband as one package into the home. The telephone companies could not match that. But fiber installations have changed the picture, and competition is fierce.

Cable companies are starting to see slowing growth in their subscriber bases. That could push them to drop rates, and it is forcing them into capital expenditures to improve the speed of their own networks. Both moves put pressure on earnings.

Continue reading Shorts bet cable's problems aren't over: CMCSA, CHTR

Shorts bet cable's problems aren't over: CMCSA, CHTR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For several years, Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was considered one of the most successful companies in America. It used its cable franchise to build a huge broadband, VOD, and VoIP cash machine. The so-called "triple play" of voice, TV, and broadband could not be matched by telecom competitors, so Comcast took hundreds of thousands of phone customers away from them each quarter.

From mid-2003 to early 2007, Comcast shares rose close to 100%. During the last three months, they are down 27%.

It finally occurred to Wall Street that competition from satellite TV and the new fiber-to-the-home products from telecom companies like Verizon (NYSE:VZ) were eating into Comcast's customer base. The company recently announced that its growth and cash flow would be less than expected. Customer growth was slowing and the firm had to put more money into infrastructure so that it could improve offerings for products like HDTV.

An influential cable analyst, Benjamin Swinburne of Morgan Stanley, says the slide in Comcast shares is over. According to Barron's the analyst "notes that the stock's multiples have been compressed to historic lows." He also thinks EPS and free cash flow could grow as much as 20% a year, if Comcast can keep adding voice and HDTV customers.

The logic for Comcast making a comeback may be a little thin. Verizon's FiOS is taking customers from Comcast and it is only in a small fraction of the 18 million homes that will eventually have access to the service.That means that the head-to-head competition for the cable company will actually increase. And satellite TV companies continue to ramp up their programming and HDTV offering.

The worst is probably not over for Comcast.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Comcast: Is the collapse over? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A rumor that is almost certainly not true comes from Barron's. The publication says that it has heard cable giant Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) might buy WiMAX start-up Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR).

While there are probably millions of obstacles to the deal, Comcast does need to come up with something to fight the telecom companies. Verizon (NYSE: VZ), in particular, seems to be taking away thousand of cable customers each week with its new FiOS high-speed internet product. The offering has broadband, phone, and TV service wrapped into one package. Along with the Verizon Wireless mobile products, the company can sell consumers four services. Comcast does not have that wireless piece.

Enter Clearwire. The company is building out a national WiMAX wireless broadband network that can connect phone handsets and PCs to the internet. Imagine if Comcast could offer that kind of roaming to its customers, and make wireless VoIP phone service a part of it. What a coup.

But it will probably never happen.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Comcast to buy Clearwire? Another odd rumor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 05:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Verizon (VZ) wireless, fiber businesses up; overall profit down originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Time Warner Cable near 52-week low on telecoms' resurgence originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

EchoStar (DISH) due to spin off hardware business? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.