Updated at 6:03 p.m. ET: Lehman Brothers analyst Greg Huber now forecasts GCI's stock will fall to $15. It closed today at $17.35, after trading as low as $16.43 on sales volume nearly twice the 4.6 million daily average.Huber, in a report today, cited rising costs for newsprint (the paper used to print newspapers) and declining ad revenue, says Bloomberg News. Huber cut his forecast 29%, to $15, the sixth time he's lowered his GCI target this year. He projected 2008 profit of $3.65 a share, down from a previous $3.70, on a more than 12% drop in newspaper ad sales. "We do not think it is too late to sell Gannett shares," Bloomberg quotes Huber as saying.
Gannett will probably report second-quarter earnings of $1.03 a share tomorrow, Huber said. Analysts expect $1.04, the average of eight estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Earlier: GCI stock has recovered considerably: It's now at $17.35, down just 1.5%.
Here's a preview on Wednesday's call from www.thestreet.com:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/69nwnl
Soon there will be no one left to write Kilroy on the Blue Ball.
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely Pathetic stock. How low will this thing go??? It just keeps dropping and dropping, It will be at 10 dollars a share soon enough.
ReplyDeleteI just turned 21 and my Grandmother died in 2004 left me at that time over 65,000 dollars worth of stock which was supposed to help me for college. However, since I was under 21 I could not touch it (why oh why did she not make it when I was 18??????) now i have around 11,000 follars and I just turned 21 a week ago. Ive lost over 50,000 dollars in three and a half years.
So much for college, I'm a fucking stock boy at Kroger, I hate my fucking life.
The blue ball is getting shipped to Des Moines to replace that 1942 globe in the lobby...
ReplyDelete5 newspaper stocks hit new lows - again
ReplyDelete(GateHouse dips to $1 / share)
http://tinyurl.com/5dge6s
Haven't heard reference to the "Blue Ball" at USAT in awhile. Looking back on that, maybe everything going on with Gannett stock and the terrible morale at USAT is some sort of cosmic justice. Seems like ever since corporate and USAT moved into that building it's been nothing but bad news, staff cuts and a host of other problems, many of which have been neglected or created by some of the managing editors - one who is showing early signs of dementia. And I am not kidding. What's scary is that the people above haven't even noticed or are choosing to do nothing about it. Ken P., wake up. You have a major problem brewing in one department. Need a hint? Which department lost three DMEs in the space of a year? All fled on their own. But I digress... Yeah, the stock is a problem. But look at the people and conditions in this company. There you will find some of the reasons for the financial issues.
ReplyDeleteDigg pushing more traffic to traditional news sites:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/57jowr
Call me crazy, and call me optimistic. But if we have the right leader we change change course.
ReplyDeletePeople thought Apple was dead when its stock tanked down to $12 a share. Jobs came in and has brought back quite an empire.
Hmm...he could be a great Board member.
Or, lets sway Obama from politics to running GCI. LOL
Why doesn't the Gannett Benefits page work anymore? I'm trying to sell some Gannett Shares and the site is down.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot pay Steve Jobs enough to work for Gannett.
ReplyDeleteGannett has lived long enough. This puppy will soon be put out of misery.
R.I.P Gannett.
Cash your stock while you can.
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/07/14/daily22.html?ana=yfcpc
@2:20
ReplyDeleteGannett's YBR site links have been hosed for a couple of weeks, at least.
Suspicious? Slightly. Hard to dump the stock if you can't access the site.
Go here instead:
http://resources.hewitt.com/gannett/
Do they really think Information Center journalists can't use the Google?
I just got this when I tried to log on.
ReplyDeleteWe're sorry, but the Gannett's Your Benefits Resource is temporarily unavailable due to system enhancements and will be available on Monday, July 7. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Am I missing something... like a week.
C'mon people -- these conspiracy theorists are getting to be a bit much. The YBR website works just fine -- I logged on five minute ago.
ReplyDelete"Gannett has lived long enough. This puppy will soon be put out of misery.
ReplyDeleteR.I.P Gannett"
Ithink you're overstating the case. Gannett is not on the verge of going out of business. They are still making profits, still have free cash flow, still make debt payments with no problem, and all these newspapers and TV stations and and web sites and affiliations do in fact have market value even now. It's dire, but it's nowhere near as bad as, say, McClatchy.
It's still got a lot of bad patch ahead, but GCI isn't going away. They'll shake off a lot of journalists, maybe close or sell some properties, cut expenses as brutally as they need to (and that's always been their specialty), but they're a long way from insolvency.
@4:21
ReplyDeleteIf you use the link provided by our HR Dep't, you get the out of service message.
If you use the direct link provided above, you should be able to log in.
Of course, it might depend on what paper you're at.
For the benefits web site use...
ReplyDeletewww.ybr.com/gannett
yeah, YBR is up, but don't count on it. I requested a hardship withdrawal from my account. It said the form would be in my hands within 3 business days. That was two weeks ago. I've had issues with YBR before. No wonder we are using them.
ReplyDeleteJust wait till YBR takes over HR departments in the field. Oh, of course they will leave one person behind to field complaints and firings.
No conspiracy here just obsolete links. More poor communication from Corporate.
ReplyDeleteAs far as HR not knowing or communicating, most astute observers noted years ago that that GCI hasn't really had much of an HR department since Madelyn Jennings retired and her position wasn't filled for quite a while. (I believe Tom Chapple was the surrogate) The HR function in Gannett is primarily for avoiding employee related legal problems, drug testing, maintaining a salary grade schedule and working out severence packages and notices. On the corporate level they stopped representing employees eons ago, around the time that the spousal surcharge was introduced
I'm a former Gannetteer, and I haven't been able to log in for a couple of weeks, either (I haven't yet moved my 401k to an IRA, but fortunately, I changed my investment out of Gannett stock more than a year ago). And my husband can't get in, either.
ReplyDeleteTry this:
ReplyDeletehttp://resources.hewitt.com/gannett/
http://resources.hewitt.com/gannett/
ReplyDeleteThis link works. Just moved another small amount of GCI to S&P 500.
YBR's site changed July 7. I did get the following e-mail at work, though the promised folo never arrived:
ReplyDeleteWe are pleased to tell you that effective July 7th, the YBR website for the 401(k) plan and our health plans will merge into one site. The address is still the same – www.ybr.com/gannett. Access to 401(k) and health plan information will be through a single sign-on. The new site is easier to navigate, contains new tools for retirement modeling and has the health information with which you are already familiar.
Attached you’ll find a short brochure explaining a bit more about the site. In addition, on the evening of July 6th, we’ll send you a brief reminder about the launch of the new site.
We’re excited about this change and the enhanced features of the new website as it will provide more tools and information for employees in a single location. If you have any questions, please contact your local Human Resources representative.
Maybe we can get Roxy Horning to assist us? Do you think she even owns a computer?!?!
ReplyDeleteWe will continue to cut expenses to our way of profitability. What a joke. We continue to cut revenue generating expenses, then the VPs wonder why revenue is down.
ReplyDeleteThey are idiots.
Are people so dumb they can't get into a web site that thousands of others are. No wonder this company is going down the tubes.
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot, they took the money and headed to Columbia...or was it Brazil?
ANON 10:29: If you're referring to the country, it's Colombia, not Columbia.
ReplyDeleteDumb is as dumb does...
Breaking News Forecast
ReplyDeleteDate 07-16-08
GCI closing at 52 week low.
Gannett is proving all the gravitational theories right.
"Are people so dumb they can't get into a web site that thousands of others are. No wonder this company is going down the tubes."
ReplyDeleteThe company's going down the tubes b/c of crappy HR drones who can't be bothered to change a hyperlink.
Odd that the same error seems to be happening at every newspaper across the country...
Yes, it is odd that these glitches are happening at multiple Gannett papers around the country.
ReplyDeleteIt it weren't for this blog, I would have thought it was just me.
I got to the web site, but couldn't log on. They apparently ditched old names and/or passwords in this process. I got locked out and tried again several days later, rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat. Even though I'm pretty sure I had my name/password right, I finally gave up and ordered a new PIN, which was supposed to arrive in days.
Three WEEKS after THAT, I got my PIN and was able to give myself a new password so I could move my mandatory Gannett stock over to fixed income, as I've always done every month.
That delay, of course, let Gannett suck more off the top of those assets at a most opportune time for the corporation (and least opportune for me), so more than 1 out of every 3 dollars they contributed were taken back.
Handy, huh? But I could just be a conspiracy theorist, LOL.
There is no conspiracy. Just truth of a company in steep decline. I worked for RGJ (Reno Gazette-Journal) for a short time when this came down the pipes:
ReplyDelete--------------
August 14, 2008
From: Ted Power
To: The staff
This is the letter I haven’t wanted to write and you haven’t wanted to read, but is unfortunately necessary in this time of slumping advertising revenues which show no sign of improvement.
By Wednesday, Aug. 27, we will lay off seven employees.
The department heads and I have spent and continue to spend considerable time reaching a payroll savings target which Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing division sent to us based on factors such as recent financial performance, market outlook, staff size and previous reductions.
In doing so, we all agreed the Gazette-Journal must go to great lengths to preserve positions critical to our mission: gathering local content, maximizing local revenue, and accelerating digital efforts.
In a few places, we will eliminate a soon-to-be-vacant position or change work processes to save some part-time or overtime expense. But such changes will not be enough to reach our savings goal.
The difficult decisions which we reach are reviewed by the community publishing division. We will meet with impacted employees by Wednesday, Aug. 27. They will receive:
One week of pay for each year of service to the company, up to 52 weeks;
Medical benefits during the severance period.
The employees may begin receiving pension and 401(k) benefits, if eligible, and would be eligible for unemployment benefits after the severance period.
Our weak economy, reflected in everything from high gasoline prices to weakened real estate sales, and the evolution of our industry are not secrets to any of us. These are national trends.
Indeed, the steps we are taking are part of a Gannett-wide reduction which will leave our community newspapers with approximately 1,000 fewer positions or 3% of the work force. (Our reduction is about 2%). In eliminating 1,000 positions, approximately 600 will require layoffs.
As a tourist market, Reno is facing additional pressure. Gaming revenues are down significantly. Gas prices are impacting the casinos’ ability to draw from their core northern California market. Airlines are reducing flights and hence the number of tourists they bring to town.
A week ago, I met with a group of local casino executives. Typically, they make their money in the summer, when driving over the hill is not threatened by weather, when our special events are at their peak, and when people vacation. But the dollars aren’t there this summer and all are worried about making it through the slower winter months.
That means we must continue to be more and more efficient in the future. Remember, our business, just like our content, reflects our community.
We hope to help our community rebound through the advertising solutions we provide in our existing products -- be they daily or weekly, in print or online, regional or targeted -- and in products to come -- like Metromix, MomsLikeMe, highschoolsports.net, or new targeted magazines.
But we are realistic about where our market and our industry stand and must always be prepared for change and be alert to efficiency opportunities.
All of our employees bring their own strengths and talents to the job every day. I appreciate all you do to serve our readers and customers. Now I thank you for your understanding at this time.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to stop and ask me or your department head.
--------------------------
The way they run their departments, it's no surprise.