| Fri, May 08, 2009 |
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Are Yahoo Investors Now Tuning Ballmer Out?
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer said again this week that he was interested in some sort of search partnership with Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO). But a funny thing happened: Yahoo’s stock dropped slightly, a sign that perhaps the market is getting weary of the CEO’s vague expressions of interest (or, at least that Microsoft’s interest has already been priced into the stock). Yahoo shares are up 25 percent year to date.
A look at Ballmer’s statements over the months and how the market has reacted.
—Where: May 7, 2009, Stanford University—Ballmer: I still think there exist opportunities to in a sense almost create a better search product by having more customers and more advertisers, to generate more relevant advertising as part of the search offering. That may or may not at some point happen. There may or may not be appropriate discussions.—Yahoo Stock: Down 1.5 percent a day later—Source: CNET
—Where: March 19, 2009, McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) Conference—Ballmer: I’m sure when it’s appropriate, we’ll have a chance to sit down and talk ... There are a lot of things that are fairly compelling economically in trying to put our two search efforts together in a partnership.—Yahoo Stock: Up as much as 4 percent—Source: Tech Trader Daily
—Where: Nov. 19, 2008, Annual Shareholders’ Meeting—Ballmer: We did our best. We thought we had something that made sense. It didn’t make sense to them. We’ve moved on.—Yahoo stock: Drops 21 percent—Source: Seattle P-I
—Where: Nov. 7, 2008, Sydney, Australia Tour—Ballmer: We tried at one point to do a partnership around search, not advertising. That didn’t work either, so we moved on, and they moved on. We are not interested in going back and re-looking at an acquisition. I don’t know why they would be either, frankly.— Yahoo’ stock: Drops as much as 17 percent—Source: CNET
—Where: Oct. 16, 2008, Gartner Conference—Ballmer: Perhaps there will continue to be opportunities to partner around search. We’re not in any discussions with them, but that was an offer we made after the acquisition had fallen through. We’ll see. I still think it would make sense economically for their shareholders and ours.—Yahoo Stock: Up 13 percent—Source: AllThingsD
Photo Credit: Reuters
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Are Yahoo Investors Now Tuning Ballmer Out?
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer said again this week that he was interested in some sort of search partnership with Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO). But a funny thing happened: Yahoo’s stock dropped slightly, a sign that perhaps the market is getting weary of the CEO’s vague expressions of interest (or, at least that Microsoft’s interest has already been priced into the stock). Yahoo shares are up 25 percent year to date.
A look at Ballmer’s statements over the months and how the market has reacted.
—Where: May 7, 2009, Stanford University—Ballmer: I still think there exist opportunities to in a sense almost create a better search product by having more customers and more advertisers, to generate more relevant advertising as part of the search offering. That may or may not at some point happen. There may or may not be appropriate discussions.—Yahoo Stock: Down 1.5 percent a day later—Source: CNET
—Where: March 19, 2009, McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) Conference—Ballmer: I’m sure when it’s appropriate, we’ll have a chance to sit down and talk ... There are a lot of things that are fairly compelling economically in trying to put our two search efforts together in a partnership.—Yahoo Stock: Up as much as 4 percent—Source: Tech Trader Daily
—Where: Nov. 19, 2008, Annual Shareholders’ Meeting—Ballmer: We did our best. We thought we had something that made sense. It didn’t make sense to them. We’ve moved on.—Yahoo stock: Drops 21 percent—Source: Seattle P-I
—Where: Nov. 7, 2008, Sydney, Australia Tour—Ballmer: We tried at one point to do a partnership around search, not advertising. That didn’t work either, so we moved on, and they moved on. We are not interested in going back and re-looking at an acquisition. I don’t know why they would be either, frankly.— Yahoo’ stock: Drops as much as 17 percent—Source: CNET
—Where: Oct. 16, 2008, Gartner Conference—Ballmer: Perhaps there will continue to be opportunities to partner around search. We’re not in any discussions with them, but that was an offer we made after the acquisition had fallen through. We’ll see. I still think it would make sense economically for their shareholders and ours.—Yahoo Stock: Up 13 percent—Source: AllThingsD
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| Tue, Apr 28, 2009 |
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Earnings Preview: What To Key On When Time Warner, Viacom And Others Report This Week
—Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Inc.
When: Wednesday (before the market opens)
Key estimates: consensus estimates are net revenue of $6.8 billion, and earnings-per-share (EPS) of $0.46.
What to look for: Many will be watching how AOL ad revenue fared during the quarter - most analysts expect it to decline around 20 percent, which we estimate could imply display ad declines in excess of 30 percent. AOL has had difficulty turning its traffic into revenue; the company recently hired Google (NSDQ: GOOG) ad-sales vet Tim Armstrong to help change that, so results below these already low expectations or indications that conditions remain poor in the second quarter 2009 would indicate the company has a long way to go to turn itself around. (Of course, the opposite applies in the case of a positive surprise).
Time Inc. is in an equally precarious position. Analysts expect its ad revenue to decline more than 25 percent during the quarter. The company has recently made aggressive moves to improve results at Time Inc., slashing the workforce and announcing it would experiment with paid online magazines. But worse-than-expected results may lead some to call for more drastic measures.
Viacom (NYSE: VIA), IAC (NSDQ: IACI) and more, after the jump
—Viacom
When: Thursday (after the market closes)
Key estimates: consensus estimates are net revenue of $3 billion, and earnings-per-share (EPS) of $0.30.
What to look for: Will Viacom’s model of dual revenue streams—from subscriptions and advertising—continue to perform better than that of broadcast TV? Consensus estimates look for 5 percent declines from cable during the first quarter of 2009, which assumes 11 percent declines in U.S. advertising and 1 percent declines in international advertising. Most analysts expect sales of the video game Rock Band to decline 25 percent in the quarter as consumers increasingly tighten their belts.
—Interactive Corp.
When: Wednesday (before the market closes)
Key estimates: consensus estimates are net revenue of $330 million, and earnings-per-share (EPS) of $0.01.
What to look for:After Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), and AOL have reported, there may not be too many surprises left with display advertising - the three control the lion’s share of online display advertising. But don’t forget IAC, which earns over a billion in annual revenue. Most analysts expect display revenue to decline 20 percent to 25 percent during the quarter, but don’t be too surprised if it comes in slightly worse.
Other companies to report this week:
Monday
Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) (After Market)
Tuesday
Dreamworks (After Market)
Interpublic (Before Market)
McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) (Before Market)
Wednesday
Akamai (NSDQ: AKAM) (After Market)
IAC (Before Market)
Meredith (NYSE: MDP) (Before Market)
Time Warner (Before Market)
Thursday
Belo (NYSE: BLC) (Before Market)
Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) (Before Market)
Comscore (NSDQ: SCOR) (After Market)
MSLO (Before Market)
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) (Before Market)
Viacom (Time Not Supplied)
Friday
Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) (Time Not Given)
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| Mon, Apr 27, 2009 |
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Earnings Preview: What To Key On When Time Warner, Viacom And Others Report This Week
—Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Inc.
When: Wednesday (before the market opens)
Key estimates: consensus estimates are net revenue of $6.8 billion, and earnings-per-share (EPS) of $0.46.
What to look for: Many will be watching how AOL ad revenue fared during the quarter - most analysts expect it to decline around 20 percent, which we estimate could imply display ad declines in excess of 30 percent. AOL has had difficulty turning its traffic into revenue; the company recently hired Google (NSDQ: GOOG) ad-sales vet Tim Armstrong to help change that, so results below these already low expectations or indications that conditions remain poor in the second quarter 2009 would indicate the company has a long way to go to turn itself around. (Of course, the opposite applies in the case of a positive surprise).
Time Inc. is in an equally precarious position. Analysts expect its ad revenue to decline more than 25 percent during the quarter. The company has recently made aggressive moves to improve results at Time Inc., slashing the workforce and announcing it would experiment with paid online magazines. But worse-than-expected results may lead some to call for more drastic measures.
Viacom (NYSE: VIA), IAC (NSDQ: IACI) and more, after the jump
—Viacom
When: Thursday (after the market closes)
Key estimates: consensus estimates are net revenue of $3 billion, and earnings-per-share (EPS) of $0.30.
What to look for: Will Viacom’s model of dual revenue streams—from subscriptions and advertising—continue to perform better than that of broadcast TV? Consensus estimates look for 5 percent declines from cable during the first quarter of 2009, which assumes 11 percent declines in U.S. advertising and 1 percent declines in international advertising. Most analysts expect sales of the video game Rock Band to decline 25 percent in the quarter as consumers increasingly tighten their belts.
—Interactive Corp.
When: Wednesday (before the market closes)
Key estimates: consensus estimates are net revenue of $330 million, and earnings-per-share (EPS) of $0.01.
What to look for:After Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), and AOL have reported, there may not be too many surprises left with display advertising - the three control the lion’s share of online display advertising. But don’t forget IAC, which earns over a billion in annual revenue. Most analysts expect display revenue to decline 20 percent to 25 percent during the quarter, but don’t be too surprised if it comes in slightly worse.
Other companies to report this week:
Monday
Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) (After Market)
Tuesday
Dreamworks (After Market)
Interpublic (Before Market)
McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) (Before Market)
Wednesday
Akamai (NSDQ: AKAM) (After Market)
IAC (Before Market)
Meredith (NYSE: MDP) (Before Market)
Time Warner (Before Market)
Thursday
Belo (NYSE: BLC) (Before Market)
Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) (Before Market)
Comscore (NSDQ: SCOR) (After Market)
MSLO (Before Market)
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) (Before Market)
Viacom (Time Not Supplied)
Friday
Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) (Time Not Given)
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| Fri, Apr 10, 2009 |
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The Dance Continues: Yahoo And Microsoft CEOs Meet About Search Deal
At the McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) conference three weeks ago, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer said that so far he had only one brief chat over the phone with Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz, whose company’s search business he covets. But Ballmer added that “I’m sure when it’s appropriate, we’ll have a chance to sit down and talk.” Apparently, the time has come. AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher reports this morning that the two CEOs had a face-to-face chat last week to talk about possible commercial relationships.
Swisher cautions that the conversations between Bartz and Ballmer, as well as other executives at the two firms, are “preliminary and wide-ranging.” The fact that the two companies are talking isn’t so surprising. Ballmer said as much at the McGraw-Hill conference, when he noted, “People at our two companies talk all the time.” But the face-to-face meeting between the two CEOs seems to imply that Bartz could be giving a deal serious thought. While Ballmer has very vocally said he is interested in Yahoo’s search business, Bartz has been much less chatty on the merits of such a deal.
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