Stocks to Watch
MSN Money Insight
| Currency | US Dollar |
|---|---|
| British Pound to US Dollar | 1.649348 |
| Euro to US Dollar | 1.501502 |
| Japanese Yen to US Dollar | 0.011547 |
| Canadian Dollar to US Dollar | 0.944020 |
Cable powers News Corp.'s profit
The company reports an 11% gain, thanks to some strong movies. But the cable business, especally Fox News, just gets stronger.
If News Corp. (NWSA) didn't have its Fox News cable business, it might be in big trouble.
The media conglomerate, whose businesses include the 20th Century Fox studios, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, said it earned $571 million, or 22 cents a share, in the fiscal first quarter, on revenue of $7.51 billion.
Earnings were up 11% from a year ago and ahead of the Street estimate of 20 cents a share. Revenue was down 4% but in line with the consensus estimate.
And it boosted its guidance, helping the stock jump 3.4% to $11.95 after hours. If that holds on Thursday, that would be the best close for the shares since Oct. 1, 2008. The shares are still off more than 47% from a 2007 high.
The company cited the success of the movie "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" for much of its profit growth.
But its cable business is turning into a monster.
In fiscal 2008, it generated 15% of News Corp.'s revenue. Now it's more than 22%.
The business generated operating profits of $495 million in the first quarter, up from $350 million a year ago. The profit was 47.5% of the company's total, compared with 36.7% a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% from a year ago to $1,606 and now represents 22% of its business. It's not all Fox News. It includes the Big Ten sports network, the National Geographic channels and the Fox Movie channel.
But Fox News, which dominates prime-time cable news, is the money machine. Operating profit jumped 79% from a year ago thanks to Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and others and the fact that it didn't have to cover a major election this year.
And it is having no problem getting cable operators to pay higher rates. Advertising revenue grew more slowly.
Contrast that with News Corp.'s newspaper businesses, whose revenue fell 17.8% and operating profit fell 81%. The culprit was the collapse of advertising revenue, the company said. It has forced the Journal to cut staff, and it will close its Boston bureau. Yet it's the top-circulating newspaper in the country.
Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch wants to be paid more for content.
He's planning to charge for news on the company's Web sites, and is asking for retransmission fees from television providers that carry the Fox broadcast network.
The company raised its outlook for fiscal 2010.
Adjusted operating profit will increase in the "high single to low double digits" on a percentage basis in fiscal 2010, Chief Financial Officer David DeVoe said on a conference call today.
That’s up from an Aug. 5 projection of growth in the "high single digits."
Fabiob, are you serious? Here's three more sources about NewsCorp's $6.4B loss seven short months ago. And that's on top of an $8B loss the quarter before.
Perhaps these Murdoch-run sources are more to your liking.
NY Post: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/news_corp_posts_loss_cable_unit_UNrTLniYix7Pcmct7QBBcP
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123386672335053793.html
FOX News: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Feb05/0,4670,EarnsNewsCorp,00.html
To The Total Cynic: You could substitute Olbermann and any other liberal commentator with any of the names you put in for FOX.
FOX News is the # 1 rated show on cable for its category.
You don't get that because people can't stand to listen to Bill, Sean and Glen. That is where "All the President's Men" make their mistake this past few months when the Whitehouse announced they don't like FOX News. The vast majority of American people do like it and watch it.
Bill, Sean and Glenn are not the only news commentators or reporters on FOX News.
When they advertise that they have a Balanced report, it is balanced. Not like any of the other news outlets I have watched for the past 40 years.
I remember boycotting CBS back in the 70s and 80s due to their negative biased reporting on Firearms. CBS stock dropped like a rock because of it. They were the left's political arm for "news". Now it is NBC, ABC and a multitude of other outlets who have gone over to the left. Where are their stock prices? In the tank and going down for the count.
I can't stand to watch them for very long and neither can others. It is all ratings.... man.
CSPAN is only information source that reports anymore. Fox is doing well because it is like a bad accident and you can't help yourself from looking. CNN is a little better, but lets be honest we have no news any longer that is reported that is citable, it is all opinion. Reporters have gotten lazy because they can make more money without spending time and recourses backing up their stories with facts. More profits, is all this is about, as cited in the article. Why give a D____ if the people have facts to debate that are relevant to our futures, our children’s or our country? Afraid we might actually vote for the right candidates?
Thank Fox News for their coverage, without it we'd be forced to listen to Joan Bher, or buar or boser.. What ever it is and conform to that line of thought or get called names, right tlord?
How soon people forget. Here's your money machine seven short months ago.
News Corp. reports $6.4 billion loss
Feb 6, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/business/worldbusiness/06iht-06news.19976458.html?_r=1
How many $500M quarters will it take to earn that back? Keep dreaming.
Fox noise. Faux news. Oh, how witty, how fresh, how..........typical of the left.
Their motto is: If you disagree with it, call it names until it goes away. Sorry, it won't work this time.
O'Reilly, Hannity and Beck??!!?? To be honest, even if I agree with them, which I often don't, I can only handle about 5 minutes of them before I have to turn the channel. They remind me of a bunch of old gossips sitting on the porch with their half-truths and better than thou attitudes. This isn't news but ideological driven propaganda. Of course the likes of MSNBC isn't much better, just a left version. Too many people today aren't capable of independent thought and the continual problems that our country faces are because our leaders in politics, business and now the media lead us around like sheep and the masses are willing to follow. If you are a die-hard liberal or conservative then you are an idiot.
StockScouter data provided by Gradient Analytics, Inc.
Quotes supplied by Interactive Data.
MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances.
advertisement
advertisement
MSN Money Market News Video
advertisement
Readers' Choice
| Rating | Top 5 Articles |
|---|---|
| 4.30 | Credit card lenders go on a rampage |
| 4.06 | The dollar's down decade |
| 3.95 | What's to love about Starbucks |
| 3.92 | Arrogant Fed hasn't learned a thing |
| 3.82 | How much longer can gold rise? |
Editors' Choice
