Gannett's stock has now lost all the ground gained from plans to cut thousands of newspaper jobs early next month, fresh Google Finance data show. Indeed, shares recently traded for $8.15, down 6% today alone. That's far below the $9.13 closing price the day before GCI disclosed the mass layoff. (More context: A year ago today, Gannett's stock closed at $41.44 a share.)In its tumble today, Gannett's stock is following the same pattern from August, when the company eliminated 1,000 newspaper jobs through layoffs and attrition: Investors bid up the stock, only to take profits and send shares back down.
Gannett stock closing prices:
- Oct. 27 (day before big layoff announced): $9.13
- Oct. 28 (day of announcement): $10.22
- Nov. 4: (highest price since announcement): $12.34
- Yesterday: $8.70
Isn't it just as likely that GCI shares would be trading far lower today sans layoff announcement? Maybe they'd be at $6, or even in McClatchy territory?
ReplyDeletePerhaps, but continuing to eliminate people, pages, features, etc. that actually contribute to the overall value, while raising prices suggests depressed share prices for sometime.
ReplyDeleteLook, tough times call for tough calls. Yet, Gannett and its institutional investors are unwilling to make one of the toughest calls of all – eliminate the short-sided moves and suck it up for a while. Everyone knows that you can’t cut your way to prosperity, especially when those cuts so negatively impact the core revenue generators – newspapers. Well, almost everyone apparently.
.
Yo Jim,
ReplyDeleteI like your YouTube video's. It is good to get the voice behind the GannettBlog. Btw, are you still in the closet or are you filming in some attic?
Jim's been out of the closet for some time, right? ha ha
ReplyDelete