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Live blog: Obama inauguration

Michael Rainey — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:15:00 EST

Filed under: Politics

WRAP-UP: As far as economics goes, we got just the basics, with no specific plans or rallying cries. Even so, you can be sure that more regulation and a more activist government is on the way. Interesting to see the market's reaction -- more regulation is always painful in the short run, but good for everyone in the long run. We'll see if traders see the wisdom of that idea...

FAVORITE QUOTE: "In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

12:18 - A stirring invocation of America the Builder - a nation of workers and creators who have their fate in their own hands. [This could be read as a rebuke to the more recent model of America the Consumer or America the Banker -- a nation that makes little more than paper and bubbles as it sits on the couch watching a wide screen TV made in China.]

12:16 - the market is powerful but if left alone can spin out of control... [Read: more regulation on the way.]

12:15 - Does our government work? is a more important question than Is our government too large or too small? ... [Read: a pretty clear rejection of right wing criticism of larger, more activist government.]

12:11 - The state of our economy calls for action - and we will act - create jobs and build infrastructure - improve healthcare, education, energy production...

12:08 - "gathering storms... we are in the midst of crisis ... our economy is badly weakened..."

12:07 - Obama speaking . . .

12:05 - Chief Justice Roberts is swearing in Obama. Interesting to note that a Harvard (Law) man is swearing in another Harvard (Law) man, to take over from yet another Harvard (Business) man.
It sounded like Roberts bungled the oath. Did he? Or was it Obama?

12:01: Apparently Obama is in now too - even without the swearing in, he's presdient as of 12:00 pm.

11:58 - Biden's in! So long Cheney. (The oil industry weeps . . . and Exxon-Mobil is down 13 cents.)

11:56 - CNN factoid: Obama is 5th youngest president.

11:44 - Obama steps out onto the podium, tremendous cheering.

11:30 - Obama is now walking to the podium. Will he announce a new plan? Does he have a new name for his proposed programs, similar to FDR's New Deal?

11:00 am - Bush and Obama are riding together to the inauguration. What are they talking about? Chit chat?

Live blog: Obama inauguration originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblogging Deere & Co. (DE)'s third quarter conference call

Michael Fowlkes — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:48:00 EST

Filed under: Major Movement, Earnings Reports, Good news, Live Coverage, Deere and Co (DE)

This morning Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reported record earnings for its fiscal third quarter. The company had been expected to show earnings of $1.99 per share, but actually was able to come though with $2.37 a share during the quarter.

Much of this recent quarter's success was a result of strong international sales which helped offset lower sales in the United States. Shares of Deere have started off the day strongly, picking up 3.3% to climb to $120.92 up $3.83 a share.

The company is going to be hosting a conference call starting at 10:00 AM EDT to discuss the quarter in more detail, and we will be covering the call in its entirety. Be sure to refresh your page often as updates will coming often.

9:50 am - Getting ready for this mornings call to get started. We should be under way in about 10 more minutes. Stay tuned.

9:58 am - We should be getting started here in another couple minutes

10:01 am - getting started now, just going through the disclosure statements at this time

10:03 am - Going over quarter results now:

net sales and revenue rose 6% year over year
net sales rose 5%
income from continuing operations saw a 23% jump year over year

Continue reading Liveblogging Deere & Co. (DE)'s third quarter conference call

Liveblogging Deere & Co. (DE)'s third quarter conference call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Home Depot (HD) second quarter earnings preview

Michael Fowlkes — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:38:00 EST

Filed under: Before the Bell, Earnings Reports, Live Coverage, Home Depot (HD), Housing

Home improvement giant Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) will get its chance to impress Wall Street tomorrow morning when it reports its second quarter numbers before the market opens. It has been a tough couple of months for home builders recently, and tomorrow morning we will see just how hard the slowdown has been for Home Depot.

If recent history is any indication, it could be an ugly day for the Atlanta based home retailer. The last time the company reported earnings was back on May 15, when it disappointed and missed estimates by 6 cents, showing earnings of 53 cents per share verse analyst estimates for 59 cents during its fiscal first quarter.

Out of the last four quarters, the company has managed to match estimates just one quarter. I wish I could say that I think this will be the quarter that the company turns things around, but I don't. The housing market has just been too brutal, and home builders have been too hard hit to put too much confidence in Home Depot's ability to come through this past quarter. Let's hope that I am wrong.

Continue reading Home Depot (HD) second quarter earnings preview

Home Depot (HD) second quarter earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblogging Cisco Systems fourth quarter conference call

Michael Fowlkes — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:27:00 EST

Filed under: After the Bell, Earnings Reports, Cisco Systems (CSCO)

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) reported its fourth quarter earnings today after the market close. The company showed earnings during the quarter of 35 cents per share, and the actual earnings for the quarter came out to 36 cents a share excluding special items.

The company will host its quarterly conference 4:30 PM EDT, and we will be covering the entire call, so be sure to refresh your page frequently to make sure you catch all the updated action.

4:25 pm - We have about 5 more minutes before the call gets started. The stock is trading down 0.3% in after hours trading at this time. Stay tuned, we should be under way shortly.

4:29 pm - Just about to get started here... they are playing some easy listening Fleetwood Mac music for us here while we wait for the call to get started.

4:31 pm - getting started now, currently just going over the SEC rules for the call and earnings release

4:34 pm - call is going to be slightly longer today because we are going to look at 3 areas.... Q4 2007, Full year 2007, and next major shift we can expect to see for Cisco

4:36 pm - CEO John Chambers now taking over for his opening remarks. This was the strongest quarter they have seen in many years. Another record from a revenue GAAP and non GAAP income.

Continue reading Liveblogging Cisco Systems fourth quarter conference call

Liveblogging Cisco Systems fourth quarter conference call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblogging Starbucks Q3 earnings call

Michael Fowlkes — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:49:00 EST

Filed under: After the Bell, Earnings Reports, Good news, Live Coverage, Starbucks (SBUX)

As we noted earlier, Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) put up solid Q3 earnings this afternoon following the market close. The company matched analyst estimates with 21 cents per share, and boasted a 20% jump in net revenues.

The stock has moved strongly higher in after hours trading today. The stock is now trading up X% as investors react to this afternoons news. We are going to be covering this afternoon's call in its entirety, so be sure to refresh your page frequently to make sure you catch all the action of the call.

4:50 pm - tuned into the call and waiting for the action to get started. We should be under way here in about 10 minutes. SBUX is currently trading up 3.1% after hours, and about 15 minutes ago when I was watching the post market trading I saw it get up 6.0% higher at one point.

4:55 pm - About 5 more minutes to go before the call gets started. Tuned in now, listening to a little easy listening music and waiting... shouldn't be too much longer.

5:00 pm - Call getting under way now. Currently just going over the SEC regulations now

5:01 pm - CEO Jim Donald getting started now: Very pleased with this current quarter, and believes fundamentals still strong and looking forward

5:03 pm - opened 668 new stores in the quarter to take the total to 14,396 locations worldwide. Still see substantial oppurtunities for growth internationally

Continue reading Liveblogging Starbucks Q3 earnings call

Liveblogging Starbucks Q3 earnings call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starbucks reports solid third-quarter earnings

Michael Fowlkes — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: After the Bell, Earnings Reports, Good news, Starbucks (SBUX)

After today's close Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) reported solid third quarter earnings. The stock has been trading up 3.6% following today's release after finishing the day up 1.9% to $27.20.

During the quarter the company saw its net revenues jump 20% to $2.4 billion, and net earnings of 21 cents per share which matched analyst estimates.

I ran a preview of today's earnings last night, and noted that the coffee giant really needed to come through with strong earnings today to turn itself around. Before today Starbucks had been able to only match estimates for three straight quarters and the stock has been in a steady downward slide.

The company will be hosting its conference call today starting at 5:00 PM EST and I will be liveblogging the call in its entirety. Be sure to come back at 5:00 and you will be to follow along as I cover the call with up to the minute details.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

Starbucks reports solid third-quarter earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblogging Archer-Daniels-Midland Q4 earnings call

Michael Fowlkes — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:50:00 EST

Filed under: Before the Bell, Earnings Reports, Good news, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM)

As we noted earlier this morning, Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE: ADM) reported strong fiscal fourth quarter numbers this morning. The company showed ourth quarter income more than doubled from last year, and traders have been pushing the stock higher in early morning trading. As of 8:45 the stock is now trading up 4.0% in premarket trading.

We are going to be covering this morning's call in its entirety, so be sure to refresh your screen frequently as we will be updating this page regularly.

8:50 am - Getting ready for this mornings call to get under way.

8:55 am - About 5 more minutes and then we should be getting under way with this mornings call

9:01 am - getting under way now, just going through all the SEC regulatory comments now

9:03 am - Patricia Woertz, CEO , going over some full year numbers: 20% increase in yearly revenues, and 65% increase in yearly EPS

9:05 am - COmpany bought back 15.4 million shares of stock during the year

Continue reading Liveblogging Archer-Daniels-Midland Q4 earnings call

Liveblogging Archer-Daniels-Midland Q4 earnings call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblogging Blockbuster's Q1 conference call

Eric Buscemi — Wed, 02 May 2007 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Live Coverage, Blockbuster Inc 'A' (BBI)

Here is a quick review of Blockbuster Inc's (NYSE: BBI) press release from this morning, while I wait for the conference call to begin.

Blockbuster reported a loss of 26 cents a share, much worse then a consensus estimate loss of 15 cents a share. Revenue, however, outperformed the consensus, $1.47B to $1.36B. The company also announced this morning that it sold its U.K. specialty games retailer Games Station Limited to The Game Group for about $150 million in cash, with the majority of the proceeds going to pay down outstanding debt.

Remember to "Refresh" your web browser to ensure you're seeing real time updates. All times below are EST.

9:50am: Logging into the conference call now, although these never start on time, let alone early. Here comes fifteen minutes of listening to elevator music...

10:00: As a point of interest, I just looked at Blockbuster's stock, and it is trading down 40 cents to $5.81. Still waiting for the call to begin.

10:05: An operator just chimed in to let us know that the call would begin shortly, and then put us back on hold. Tease.

10:08: And here we go. The director of investor relations, Ms. Torres, is reading the standard legal mumbo-jumbo.

10:09: Larry Zine, CFO, gets handed off the call. He said increasing the subscriber growth is the key to the company's economic model. He is now going over the results -- $1.47B in revenue, rental revenues of $1.05B. Blockbuster Total Access offset slowing in-store rentals. The company met its aggressive online growth objective -- adding 800,000 online subs.

10:13: Zine continued, saying the rental industry remained under pressure, putting pressure on rental gross margin. Operating loss was 26 cents per share. The company announced the sale of Game Station, with a large amount of proceeds (about $150 million) going to pay off debt and strengthen the balance sheet. Reduced debt by $500 million since November 2005.

10:16: Zine summarized, saying they are taking the right steps to strengthen the company.

10:17: CEO John Antiocco got the mic. He said the company had 60% of the subscriber growth in the online space. Grew subscriber base by 35%. Nearly doubled online base in five months to 3 million. The company seems real focused on Total Access and the online market.

Continue reading Liveblogging Blockbuster's Q1 conference call

Liveblogging Blockbuster's Q1 conference call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 May 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live Blog: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Reports

Beth Gaston Moon — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: After the Bell, Earnings Reports, Bad News, Internet, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD)

Grab a big mug of your favorite hot beverage and a stack of napkins - it's time for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) to report its earnings for the fourth quarter. I'll try to keep this short and snappy, lest your eyes glaze over (groan...). Be sure to "refresh" your browser frequently so you don't miss any updates.

According to the company's official press release, revenue during the reporting period dropped 8.2% to $112.2 million, compared to $122.2 million in the year-ago period. Company-store sales dropped 11.2% to $79.2 million, while franchise operations saw revenue grow 34.0% to $5.8 million.

The company posted a net loss of $24.4 million for the fourth quarter, totaling 39 cents per share, narrower than the year-ago net loss of $37.7 million, or 61 cents per share. The latest figures include a $16.0 million charge related to the settlement of various litigation. The latest results also include impairment charges and lease termination costs totaling $5.96 million, down from various year-ago charges that added up to $25.3 million.

Analysts were expecting per-share earnings (excluding items) of a penny per share.

Continue reading Live Blog: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Reports

Live Blog: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Reports originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earnings preview: Will HP rise above the fray?

Brian White — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 14:20:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Live Coverage, Competitive Strategy, Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Scandals

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) is still embroiled in a scandal or two based on corporate spying and employee impersonations, but that didn't keep the calendar year of 2006 flat by any means. HP overtook rival Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) in overall revenues in the computer industry last year, helped by refreshed designs along with a bigger focus on the retail and consumer segment.

Will that translate into HP meeting its expectations when it reports this Tuesday, February 20th? We will all see then -- and I'll be live blogging the event right here at http://hpq.bloggingstocks.com, so stay tuned to this website on Tuesday as we cover the HP quarterly webcast in real-time, starting around 2:00 pm Pacific Time.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial estimate HP will earn 62 cents a share for its most recent quarter, excluding one-time items. This would be a 30% increase over the 48 cents a share it earned in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue is also forecast to rise 7% -- to $24.3 billion from $22.6 billion a year ago.

Will HP meet, beat, or blow past expectations? You decide.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know what you're expecting.

Earnings preview: Will HP rise above the fray? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 17 Feb 2007 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live from BloggingStocks, it's Starbucks' Q1 2007 earnings call

Sarah Gilbert — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:51:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Live Coverage, Starbucks (SBUX)

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) investors have something to cheer about today: the company announced first quarter, fiscal 2007 results that were exactly what analysts hoped they'd be. 26 cents a share, or $205 million, up 18% from the year-earlier quarter, on revenues of $2.4 billion, up 22% from the year prior.

In about 10 minutes, the analyst earnings call will begin. I'll be live blogging the call.

2:02 p.m. (All times Pacific.) The call has begun. Disclaimers... and the call is turned over to Jim Donald, CEO. As I mentioned, comparable store sales increased 6%; he breaks it down to 4% from number of transactions, 2% from value of transaction (connected to the increase in prices perhaps?).

2:02 p.m. The company opened 728 stores (awed voice) over two stores a day. The company is focused on balanced growth, and targeted investments. "Our food program this quarter was a significant contributor to our revenues... we have remained focused on expanding our lunch program..." 69% of company-operated U.S. retail stores now have lunches. Adds approximately $300,000 in average annual revenues to one store (big!). 1200 stores now offer warm breakfast items; aggressive plans to roll out warming platform over next couple of years. The warm sandwiches add (I think I heard this right) $135,000 in average annual revenue to one store. Both warm breakfast sandwiches and lunch programs are planned to be in all company-owned U.S. stores in a few years.

2:06 p.m. Raves over the Starbucks Card -- helps promote customer loyalty, it's huge, a great gift. I must admit I just bought my sister-in-law a Starbucks Card for her birthday...

Continue reading Live from BloggingStocks, it's Starbucks' Q1 2007 earnings call

Live from BloggingStocks, it's Starbucks' Q1 2007 earnings call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In real time: Microsoft first quarter 2007 earnings call

Sarah Gilbert — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 17:35:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Live Coverage, Microsoft (MSFT)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) first quarter earnings were strong, with revenue of $10.8 billion and net income of $3.48 billion. Everyone is looking forward, and investors don't know quite what to think: at first blush of the earnings release, the stock was down a few cents, and now has recovered in after hours trading to $28.52, up 17 cents from the market close.

Colleen Healy and Chris Liddell have just gotten on the conference call for the usual disclaimers.

2:38 p.m. [all times Pacific]: all results have come in at or above the high end of guidance, says Chris proudly. If you've never heard his voice, it's worth it: he sounds like a proud and very financially-savvy butler. He points out that the company is averaging one acquisition a month -- I don't know if I've even noticed. I'll have to pay more attention.

2:42 p.m. Colleen is giving details on first quarter performance, briefly, "in order to allow more time for your questions." It's all about the questions... She says the company made significant development on "all the products in the pipeline" and points out how the company's 11% revenue growth was driven by well-received new product launches, especially in the previously mentioned Entertainment and Devices division a.k.a. the Xbox 360.

2:45 p.m. Strong performance in the small and medium business divisions. Non-annuity growth was relatively week due to the anticipation (apprehension) of new Vista and SQL server software.

Continue reading In real time: Microsoft first quarter 2007 earnings call

In real time: Microsoft first quarter 2007 earnings call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Oct 2006 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblogging Intel third quarter 2006 earnings

Sarah Gilbert — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:28:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Live Coverage, Intel (INTC)

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) revenue: $8.7 billion, down 12% from third quarter 2005. Intel net income: $1.3 billion, down 31% from third quarter 2005. Earnings per share: 22 cents. Beating expectations by five cents a share: priceless.

Yep. My first draft headline was something like "Intel slides, dips, down, yuck" but after checking out after-hours trading I had to begrudgingly admit that sometimes, down is good! In a minute, the webcast of earnings will be beginning, and I'll be liveblogging it. As I finish the call, I note that the initial after-market-close euphoria has worn off a bit, and the after-hours trading is now around $21.06, just a touch up from close of $20.90.

2:32 p.m. [all times Pacific]: The call is beginning. Alex Lenke, Investor Relations manager, will be host. He either (a) is very nervous or (b) has been told to enunciate very very carefully. He sounds like an unusually friendly, cute and geeky robot.

2:34 p.m.: CEO Paul Otellini takes over. He's pushing the "record shipment in mobile and server product segments" and is pleased about the huge number of new products. "The industry recognizes our clear leadership in core microarchitecture." Factories have been "executing extremely well" and the 45 nanometer processors are coming out on schedule (which is, I think, what my brother -- an electrical engineer who works for the company -- does. Cool).

2:37 p.m.: They see WiMAX as a major part of the company's strategy. Happy to move the Pentium 4 into lower price points. Lauds the "biggest ad campaign in years." Headcount declined, on track to be at 92,000 employees by the end of next year. They want to be agile enough to deliver a new core or shrink every year.

Continue reading Liveblogging Intel third quarter 2006 earnings

Liveblogging Intel third quarter 2006 earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblogging eBay second quarter earnings call

Sarah Gilbert — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 17:12:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Good news, Live Coverage, eBay (EBAY)

With great results on the earnings release, a few minutes ago, I was excited to hear the whole glowing report by Meg Whitman & team. I tuned in early.

Evidently, it's not a good idea to tune in early. I kept refreshing my page only to miss the first 14 minutes. So I'll be following up and re-capping when the webcast is archived later tonight. In the meantime...

5:14 p.m. -- CEO Meg Whitman is excitedly talking about PayPal when I tune in, and quickly goes on to Skype, talking about the free SkypeOut North America promotion, saying that U.S. and Canada downloads tripled and "revenue has accelerated past pre-campaign levels" despite the free nature of the campaign.

5:18 p.m. -- "Never stand still, adjust with lightning speed to whatever comes our way," is the strategy, says Meg. She also points out the many doubters along the way -- "why does eBay need a bank?" and "what is eBay doing with Skype?" -- but says that doubters have now been quashed. She's a really excellent speaker, eBay's speechwriter should get a bonus.

5:22 p.m. -- Now time for CFO Bob Swan. I think all CFO's should be named "Bob." He begins to rattle off the financial results. User growth continues to be strong, with 10 million new users in the quarter. Auction listings showed a year-over-year growth of 35%, and 106 million new listings in the stores, total. That's 3.1 million new users in the U.S., and U.S. listings grew 15% (guess most of that growth is coming outside the U.S.).

Continue reading Liveblogging eBay second quarter earnings call

Liveblogging eBay second quarter earnings call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Jul 2006 17:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblogging Microsoft's Steve Ballmer at Strategic Decisions Conference

Sarah Gilbert — Wed, 31 May 2006 07:59:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Management, Conventions and Conferences, Live Coverage, Microsoft (MSFT)

8:02 a.m. As I wrote yesterday, Strategic Decision #1: Steve Ballmer's decision to speak today, "directly to investors." He'll be answering questions from the little guy and the question on everyone's lips: will he be defensive?

8:04 a.m. Ballmer wants to speak about the business from both the perspective of an investor and a manager, and he promises not to yell at the audience. Heh. He starts out by saying that the next 10 years has as much potential for world-changing strides in computers and software as the last 10 years, and he's excited to be part of a company which "invests, profits from, and takes advantage of the incredible opportunity there is to innovate."

8:06 a.m. The thing that will change in the next 10 years? Digital writing. "Pencil and paper will be replaced by superior technology that is digital. And somebody will have the ability to benefit from that technology." He already sounds both (a) angry and (b) frantic. Maybe it's just his thang.

Continue reading Liveblogging Microsoft's Steve Ballmer at Strategic Decisions Conference

Liveblogging Microsoft's Steve Ballmer at Strategic Decisions Conference originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 May 2006 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Time Warner earnings call recap: cash rich, subscriber poor

Sarah Gilbert — Wed, 03 May 2006 10:06:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Live Coverage, Time Warner (TWX)

0:00 I'm listening to the call just after the market open, so I'll report it to you in time elapsed on the call. Everyone's buzzing about Time Warner's much-higher-than-expected earnings, which have still disappointed investors (the stock was down 31 cents to $17.11 at last check). Revenues were just a touch up from the year-ago quarter, to $10.5 billion, and operating income was up 11% to $1.9 billion. The company is churning cash, too, with $1.6 billion in free cash flow.

The big story, of course, is that AOL revenue and income are both down from a year ago. Publishing is down in both areas, too, but no one seems to be mentioning that. If you're looking for good news, there's a lot of it: cable income is up significantly and both "Filmed Entertainment" and "Network" categories show some strong growth in income.

0:25 James Barge, SVP of Investor Relations, takes the mic. He explains the company's odd and non-GAAP measures, including (quite a mouthful) adjusted OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization). It excludes some items, like "non-cash asset impairments" and amounts from sales of business lines. It seems like a sensible financial measure but it's hilarious to hear someone say it. [This from a girl whose friends, it must be admitted, tell accounting jokes to one another. Did you hear the one about EBCOSITDA? Oh, never mind.]

Continue reading Time Warner earnings call recap: cash rich, subscriber poor

Time Warner earnings call recap: cash rich, subscriber poor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 May 2006 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblogging Microsoft fiscal third quarter results: one big penny

Sarah Gilbert — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 17:27:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Live Coverage, Microsoft (MSFT)

5:27 p.m. While I'm waiting on hold for the Microsoft earnings call to begin, I keep checking the stock price in after-hours tradiing. It's at $25.64 right now, down over 5% from the close and edging ever closer to a 52-week low. I'm just starting to review their third-quarter 10-Q and I'll include comments as I listen in.

5:32 p.m. We're still on hold (guess all the reporters didn't call in at least 10 minutes ahead of time, as requested) and I'm noticing that cost of sales was way up - ~~66%~~ 49% higher - from 3rd quarter 2005 to 3rd quarter 2006. G&A is down about half this much. What happened with that $665 million?

5:35 p.m. After a very scripted introduction (sounded like it was recorded by a computer and not a person), we hear that Microsoft "choose the right places to focus" with their SQL server sales, for instance, and is "ramping up the supply of Xbox 360 consoles."

5:38 p.m. Expect an increasing set of opportunities and challenges with regards to product launches like Xbox 360 consoles, and home entertainment sales are up 85%.

5:46 p.m. Continue to see a shift in "premium edition" OEM sales of MS software. They can't say enough about SQL servers. She puts extra emphasis on every adjective when she talks SQL.

5:47 p.m. Pleased with the great response that Office Live has received.

5:49 p.m. MSN revenue down - but advertising revenue up slightly, especially in instant messaging properties. "Made good progress" in transitioning search advertising from the Yahoo! platform to proprietary ad platform - and lower-than-expected performance from partner-driven ad search volume. Doesn't look like it's working as planned although they say that they're sure it was the right decision. Hmm.

Continue reading Liveblogging Microsoft fiscal third quarter results: one big penny

Liveblogging Microsoft fiscal third quarter results: one big penny originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Apr 2006 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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