IMAX (NASDAQ: IMAX) really missed Wall Street's expectations. In its latest earnings release, issued on Monday, the company said that its net loss per share doubled to $0.25 for the first quarter compared to the 2007 quarter when the net loss was $0.12 per share. Revenues were $23.5 million, a 12% decline.

While that performance is bad enough in itself, it was also below expectations with the bottom line missing by $0.11. Yikes! Revenues were likewise a disappointment. Even with all the snazzy content from studios such as Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Disney (NYSE: DIS) and DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA), IMAX is having a tough time getting its stock out of the single digits. Management is hoping that a stronger slate for the rest of the year will have a positive impact.

Maybe it will, maybe it won't. IMAX is a stock I have no interest in buying. The company sports a negative book value at the moment, and the stock's past performance has been pretty terrible. I have to concede, however, that on a shorter-term period, the stock has been strong -- in fact, it is not too far from a 52-week high.

As one can imagine, many are speculating that IMAX has a great future ahead of it as the company transitions to digital platforms (this article at USATODAY.com provides an excellent summary of the bull argument, as well as issues IMAX has had with financing). Also, I'm sure many are speculating about a potential sale of the company at some point.

Hey, I'm not going to necessarily rain on the long-term thesis for IMAX, but I have to be honest and say that I'd have to see a breakout from here and some better numbers next quarter to even think about starting a position.

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

Is there any content company not interested in dealing with Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes platform? According to Portfolio.com, media conglomerate Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) would like to see its HBO programming distributed on Apple's best-of-breed digital service. An announcement of a deal could be forthcoming very soon.

While some many question the move since HBO is a premium subscription service and could conceivably lose some of its allure, I think it is smart strategy. Digital distribution isn't going away, and HBO needs to be part of every platform, even iTunes. Plus, imagine the possibilities to really cash in here. What if the finale of The Sopranos had been sold on iTunes before it aired? Little experiments like this would not only be valuable in terms of testing contemporary theories about distribution paradigms in the 21st century, but they might also be profitable.

Perhaps the key element of this story is that it seems as if Time Warner was able to convince Apple that its content is worth more than the typical iTunes price point of $1.99. This is important because price elasticity will ultimately determine the overall value of a content library. Apple would, of course, like to charge the bare minimum to the users of its hardware, but where does that leave an HBO? No, HBO would be smart in starting as high as possible in terms of price and then adjusting after a full analysis.

I look forward to seeing this agreement announced, and if it is, I think HBO will not only make some money with Apple, but it will find that the pay-cable channel's brand equity will be boosted in the bargain. Some iTune users might actually be prompted to subscribe. HBO is known as a home for quality programs -- I loved the old Tales From the Crypt series -- and it may soon be known as an iTunes top seller.

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

About a month ago I posted Serious Money: AAPL, EBAY, GE, GOOG, MSFT, TWX, WMT, YHOO -- one more look, covering the original Great Eight stocks we focused on at BloggingStocks. These were based on reader interest, which they do still generate today.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was the big winner among only four that had appreciated. The following indicates commonly used metrics for tracking and comparing stocks.

Reviewing the stocks in order of lowest to highest P/E ratio (TTM):

• Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) 14.84
• General Electric (NYSE: GE) 14.91
• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) 17.08
• Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) 18.29
• Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) 34.25
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) 37.82
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) 40.28
• eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) 95.24

It is interesting to note that only two of the eight have a below market P/E ratio, while only two are average. On the other hand, four are double the average and beyond, which leads me to believe the overall market consensus is that it is still very early in the game for these stocks and their futures are yet to be determined. The P/E ratios of the four are also the most volatile as are the stock prices.

I honestly thought Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Speed Racer would take the top spot over the Mother's Day weekend at the domestic box-office marketplace. Thankfully, I was wrong, since I own shares in Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL).

Instead, Marvel's blockbuster Iron Man, which is distributed by Viacom (NYSE: VIA), grabbed the honors. According to estimates at Boxofficemojo.com, Iron Man grossed more than $50 million while Speed Racer drove away with about $20 million, good for second place. Yes, these are estimates, but I'll tell you what, my friends any changes to them later on won't alter the tale of Marvel beating the bigger studio. News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) new film, What Happens in Vegas, took in a similar amount to Racer and is currently pegged in third place. While first place is a lock, it's possible that second and third positions will be changed. Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Made of Honor and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal comedy Baby Mama were fourth and fifth, respectively.

This was Iron Man's second weekend, and I couldn't be more pleased by its performance. Hopefully, the picture is on its way to grossing at least $250 million domestically; subsequent weekends will get tougher for Marvel as more summer flicks open and gobble up screens and mindshare. For now, though, the company is a superhero. I just hope that the new Hulk, which will be opening soon, is a lot better than the one put out a few years back. For coverage on Marvel's latest earnings report, check out Sheldon Liber's recent piece.

Disclosure: I own shares in General Electric and Marvel; positions can change at any time.

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), a media conglomerate that competes with Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Disney (NYSE: DIS), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), CBS (NYSE: CBS) and Sony (NYSE: SNE), reported third-quarter earnings Wednesday, and they were pretty interesting, to say the least.

I mean, revenues increased 16% to about $8.8 billion, but earnings per share went up like crazy, coming in at $0.91 per diluted share versus $0.27 per diluted share a year ago -- that's more than three times as much as the comparable period's results! As you can imagine, there's a little catch. The stellar appreciation is due to a gain in a transaction with Liberty Media. According to a piece at CNBC, News Corp. earned $0.30 per share after adjustments, which was a penny shy of Wall Street's expectations.

So, News Corp. kind of had a so-so quarter. I think the top-line growth was pretty good even if bottom-line performance wasn't as nice as that special gain made it seem on the surface. Plus, News Corp. is working with some cool assets. Cable programming continues to score thanks to the strength of Fox News Channel, an important platform for the conglomerate which contains valuable brand name pundits such as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. News Corp. leverages the channel to drive growth in its other cable properties; in fact, Fox Business Channel is trying to make a name for itself and it definitely benefits from synergy with Fox News.

Overall, the cable programming segment delivered a 17% increase in operating income while Fox News saw its operating profit go up by 11%. The television segment increased its profits by over 50%, and the Fox network just about doubled its bottom-line base. Other parts of News Corp. didn't do as well, such as filmed entertainment -- this segment's profit took a dive to the tune of 36%. However, don't blame one of my favorite shows, Family Guy -- DVD sales of this hot property was a positive driver.

Those are the highlights that stuck out at me. As for the stock, I don't see a compelling reason to buy at the moment. News Corp. should do well over time, but it wasn't like these were blowout numbers or anything. I'll wait and see how the company is doing when it reports its fiscal-year stats.

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

Playboy's (NYSE: PLA) shares are hovering near a 52-week low as I write this. The catalyst, you ask? The sexy company reported some dismal earnings this week. Net sales decreased 8%. The net loss came in at $0.09 per diluted share versus positive net income of $0.04 per diluted share in the previous year's quarter.

Even if you look at some of the adjustments, the Playboy story just isn't a seductive one. And according to a Reuters article, expectations were for a profit of $0.06 per share after adjustments. The net income of each Playboy operating division headed in a downward direction. And publishing, well -- that's been the saddest segment of all for a while now.

I have a question for Christie Hefner: Are you serious about turning your father's company around? Seriously. I've been giving Playboy the benefit of the doubt now for quite some time, and I'm not sure I can do that anymore. I want to, believe me; I'm a guy who has always been in love with the Playboy lifestyle. And, remember, the invitation is always open if you need me to come over to the Mansion to help you generate some new marketing strategies.

World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) stepped into the Wall Street ring on Tuesday -- and lost. The company's stock dropped about 8% at closing on the Q1 earnings release (it did recover a bit during the after-hours session). I'd probably call this profit-taking, although there was one thing about the earnings report that I didn't like: free cash flow.

Let me say first, though, that revenues increased more than 50% to $162.6 million, and that earnings per share rose almost 29% to 27 cents (according to Briefing.com, this matched expectations). This is excellent growth, and it shows the resilience of wrestling as an entertainment brand; sure, many on Wall Street may not take the company seriously, but they're wrong. I enjoyed, by the way, that WWE increased the buy-rates for its Royal Rumble and No Way Out pay-per-view events. Pay-per-view is a very vital part of WWE's operations, in my opinion. And let's not forget a big driver for the quarter -- Wrestlemania XXIV -- which brought in more than million buys.

Unfortunately, free cash tumbled off the mat, decreasing 77%. And, no, the amount generated did not cover the generous dividend that WWE pays. I would really like to see free cash flow do well every quarter since WWE has been a steady dividend-increaser over its time as a public company. Management must focus on the cash-flow statement and make it a priority.

Recently, Jonathan Berr took a look at CBS (NYSE: CBS) and its latest quarterly results. One of the things I found most interesting about the earnings release was the fact that CBS's dividend reputation is very much intact -- management raised the quarterly payout by 8% to $0.27 per share. It can certainly afford to do this as free cash flow was up 25% in the last quarter, and the amount was more than adequate for the dividend. CBS has been pretty good about increasing the payments, but I happened to come across a headline at CNBC that talked about Jim Cramer's concerns about CBS -- he basically would rather the media company focus on growth instead of income.

His point is a good one, and well-taken -- after all, growth is pretty darn exciting. But I think CBS management has been great at sharing the spoils with its stockholders, and I always think it's a neat thing when a media stock yields a decent amount. CBS currently yields 4.5% based on Monday's closing price -- that's a lot bigger than the yields offered by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and Disney (NYSE: DIS). Yes, it's a cliché, but shareholders are getting paid to wait, and that's awesome if you intend to hold the stock for a long time. As a Disney shareholder, I can tell you that CBS's yield makes me envious!

I think CBS will turn out to be more than just an income play though. I'm confident the company will grow the price of its stock over time. Granted, major networks aren't what they used to be in this world of cable television, but the landscape continues to change with new digital distribution models popping up all the time, and networks like CBS are looking to participate wherever it makes sense to do so. Considering CBS's ability to generate cash and its willingness to share, I have a feeling capital appreciation will eventually follow the dividend boosts.

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

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) may be much better off by not overpaying for Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO). To pay almost $45 billion for a company that's really struggling seems extreme -- especially since I think Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) will spin out AOL in a few months. Microsoft could buy AOL much, much cheaper than Yahoo.

AOL brings to the table both traffic and many properties, including BloggingStocks! The problem is that revenue is declining and so are unique visitors, down from 110 million average unique visitors in the fourth quarter, to 109 million in Q1.

I think that with Microsoft's focused management, it could achieve the same turnaround at AOL that it is anticipating achieving with Yahoo, only it would not have to spend $45 billion.

Some analysts have said that AOL is a consolation prize for the loser in the Yahoo! battle. I think Yahoo! is the booby prize and AOL might just be the better deal.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 5/1/08

The movie business is changing, my friends. According to the following Hollywood Reporter article, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) intends to release its DVD products to retail shelves and video-on-demand at the same time -- the so-called "day-and-date" paradigm. CEO Jeff Bewkes announced this plan during Time Warner's earnings conference (check out Jon Ogg's coverage of the media conglomerate's quarter). Bewkes seemed satisfied that experiments with the strategy worked out well, proving that issues of cannibalization are overblown and that the margin scenarios are too cool to ignore. And, oh, those margins are awesome -- whereas you're talking maybe as high as 30% for a disc, a VOD protocol might yield 70%. That is a huge difference. And wait, here's another Hollywood Reporter piece coming online as I was writing this article, this one about Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) wanting in on the day-and-date excitement. The trade paper is reporting that iTunes will announce that it has struck a deal with the major studios -- as well as Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF) -- to release movies on its platform day-and-date with DVD releases.

Next Wednesday, April 30, in the early pre-market hours, we'll get to see earnings out of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX). Estimates for the media conglomerate from First Call are 23 cents EPS on $11.39 billion in revenues, although these numbers may be higher or lower after four more trading sessions have passed. Next quarter estimates are 25 cents EPS on $11.37 billion in revenues. Estimates for fiscal December 2008 are $1.09 EPS on $47.74 billion in revenues. Over the last 90 days, the estimates have come in slightly.

While shares have gotten back over $15, Time Warner's 52-week trading range is $13.65 to $21.97. What is interesting is that there have not been all that many major analyst calls out there. Analysts also still have an average price target north of $21.

It's too soon to provide any options or chart analysis, but the volume has been extremely light in stock options. That might indicate that traders are not expecting any major announcement for a turnaround.

One thing we may learn about are the old rumors that AOL is looking to get between Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) over that proposed merger. Whether or not this occurs or whether or not this is even addressed ... well, that is up to Mr. Bewkes.

Note: Time Warner is the parent company of BloggingStocks. Jon Ogg is a producer and editor of the Special Situation newsletter for 247WallSt.com.

It was June 7, 2006 when I set up a tracking portfolio for our great eight stocks. AOL Money & Finance started BloggingStocks with a focus on these companies based on investor interest. Today, they still stimulate a lot of interest, and comments.

The following share prices are from the original tracking date now updated to last Friday's close, April 11, 2008. Earnings season is upon us again. The Iraq war is still in the headlines, as are the presidential elections, energy prices, recession fears and our latest calamity -- the shameful Washington/Wall Street axis of financial evil. Here are the BloggingStocks eight:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was $60.00 and is up to $147.14 gaining 145%.

eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) was $32.00 and is down to $30.87 losing 3.35%.

General Electric (NYSE: GE) was $34.50 and is down to $32.05 losing 7.1%.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was $380.00 and is up to $457.45 gaining 20.38%.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was $22.50 and is up to $28.28 gaining 25.69%.

Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) was $17.50 and is down to $14.27 losing 18.46%.

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) was $47.00 and is up to $54.80 gaining 16.6%.

Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) was $31.00 and is down to $28.34 losing 8.58%.

So after 22 months we find four stocks are up and four stocks are down. Apple is the clear winner and remains the company to watch going forward. New trend-setting products are introduced regularly and few companies can match its inventiveness or marketing genius. Steve Jobs has hit a grand slam. Microsoft, the perennial cash generating machine, came in second with very strong results given the current state of the economy.

Among the surprises and the one I have taken the most flack for is that Google has not done very well in my eyes. It has been highly volatile and makes for a good trading stock, but if you add the dividend of 3.48% to Wal-Marts appreciation you have about the same growth with one tenth the downside risk.

eBay and GE are remarkable for having achieved nothing over our review period, and although they are down now I consider them break-even investments because they have been trading a few bucks higher and a few lower the entire period. Lots of promise, little results.

Lastly, Time Warner and Yahoo! are big disappointments. Time Warner (owner of BloggingStocks) has a new CEO and change is in the air. Yahoo! is in Microsoft's cross-hairs and looks like it will be something else in a few months. Ironically the two companies are in the midst of discussions to find a way to help each other out of their stagnation. I hope they succeed. Both have great franchises that are struggling to gain traction. Both must contend with Google and Microsoft.

Going forward Apple may be the best bet and Microsoft will probably continue to mint money. The others may just tread water for a while.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I own shares of EBAY, and TWX.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• To help stop Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) $44.6 billion takeover offer, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is in talks with Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) about combining internet operations. Meanwhile, Microsoft is talking with News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) about a joint bid for Yahoo! And Yahoo! is is considering a possible advertising agreement with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), the Wall Street Journal reported.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) is planning to launch a number of new web sites, and hopes to capture a variety of audiences including African-Americans, children and news followers.

WEB SITES:

• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) said it liquidated three investment funds, with assets valued at $1 billion as of February 29, because of "market disruptions," Bloomberg reported.
• Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Defense approved the sale of 157 armored trucks to Britain. The trucks are built by Force Protection Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT), and the deal is valued at $125 million if all options are exercised.