[Stock watch: closing market caps of big media companies]
Gannett's shares staged a late-session recovery today, closing moments ago at $4.54, down less than 2% -- and pulling the company's key market capitalization back above $1 billion, Google Finance is now reporting. The yield stands at 35%, amid speculation the board of directors could trim the payout at a meeting later this month.
With New York Times Co. in junk territory, GCI is now one of just three publishers retaining investment-grade status; the other two: Washington Post Co. and E.W. Scripps, blogger Alan Mutter says: "While WPO recently received confirmation of its A1 rating, the highest possible mark, Gannett was downgraded to the lowest of the five levels in the investment-grade category. Now rated Baa3, GCI joins Scripps, which has been at the same level since the summer."
In cutting Gannett’s credit rating last week, Mutter says, Moody’s said it was commencing a "review for further downgrade."
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I have not calcutated the last time Gannett was under $1 Billion in Market Cap. More importantly, one must calculation the inflation adjusted value of the company. It's probably close to a 35+ year low on that basis.
ReplyDeleteI believe the stock price -in nominal terms- is at a level last seen in the late 1970s.
Anybody hear the term CLAW BACK. I think -like an angry bear- stockholders should CLAW BACK top executive compensation. I they don't pony up, throw them in the bear cage at the Zoo.
I have not calcutated the last time Gannett was under $1 Billion in Market Cap. More importantly, one must calculation the inflation adjusted value of the company. It's probably close to a 35+ year low on that basis.
ReplyDeleteI believe the stock price -in nominal terms- is at a level last seen in the late 1970s.
Anybody hear the term CLAW BACK. I think -like an angry bear- stockholders should CLAW BACK top executive compensation. I they don't pony up, throw them in the bear cage at the Zoo.
In April, 1980, the stock price was $4.50. Today shows all the net worth of the company built up over the last 30 years has been wiped out. And the stock is still declining sharply at the pace of 6 percent or more each day. For God's sake, Crystal Towers, do something to save this company. Like resigning.
ReplyDeleteThis is no surprise. Ad revenue losses are accelerating, and I am told were startlingly bad in January.
ReplyDelete11:04 here. I got those figures from MSN, which has stock figures going back to 1980. I am looking for figures before that.
ReplyDeleteOh my. This doesn't look good.
ReplyDeleteThis happened about the same time I noticed a Pointroll press release---something about big rich ads I believe it was. Yeah right.
O/U on the time GCI has left before filing bankruptcy. Take your best guess.
ReplyDeleteMine: 4 months.
...Take your best guess.
ReplyDeleteMine: 4 months....
I'd tend to agree with you. Right after the results of the second fiscal quarter are announced.
The valuation of this company is going to continue to decline as long as they allow USAT to drain profits from the community papers.
ReplyDelete"Flusssshhhhhhhhhhhh..."
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThe valuation of this company is going to continue to decline as long as they allow USAT to drain profits from the community papers.
2/12/2009 12:54 PM "
Nice try, Goofy. Take a look at either circ or readership for USAT over the past two decades. Now look at the community papers. Which trend is better?
Yeah, I thought so.
1:10 PM here. Posted instead of previewed...
ReplyDeleteI continue to be both amused and dumbfounded over comments like 12:54's -- always long on assertions that USAT is propped up by the community papers, but short on actual facts that support the argument.
Either offer some solid facts, or get off the soapbox.
1:10 Nice try, but when the budgets of the community papers carry the costs for printing and distributing USAT, then increased circulation at USAT is a doublehit for the community papers, isn't it?
ReplyDeletethe biggest issue with the current gannett stock price is that it is now very much in play as a take over target
ReplyDeletethe company is still creating a lot of free cash and could be milked for a number of years - even if it went out of business eventually, the take over company could easily get a nice return
"Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete1:10 Nice try, but when the budgets of the community papers carry the costs for printing and distributing USAT, then increased circulation at USAT is a doublehit for the community papers, isn't it?
2/12/2009 1:18 PM"
Again, do you have any evidence to support this, or is it just faulty logic on your part? My guess is the latter, so please STFU.
OK, so now the hedge funds are moving in on GCI leading to breaking up the company, we will soon see how viable USAT is without the community paper printing plants. My bet is that it can't make it. Yours is that it can. I think we will soon see who is right.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to look at the value of GCI (besides the market cap) is the "enterprise value" and the EBITDA enterprise multiple.
ReplyDeleteThe GCI enterprise value is $4.8 billion, and its EBITDA multiple is 3.3. That compares with the EBITDA multiples of the following media companies: Wash Post @ 6.6; Lee at 7.3, NY Times at 5.8 and McClatchey at 6.6.
The lower the EBITDA multiple the better from a takeover standpoint since it has the income, etc. to recoup the acquisition price.
Accordingly, GCI is a more-attractive target than the others shown above.
Next (upcoming) board meeting could bring some interesting news.
USAT is toxic place, maybe because it's next to corporate. It has gone from a reasonably invigorating and prideful place to work, to a morbid abyss. It went from protecting its staff from layoffs and other financial woes to offering buyouts and firing people who did nothing wrong at every chance it gets. I came here to feel my work was important and to have a stable and last job, and all I ended up with now is a few decent memories and the constant threat that my number will soon be called. The paper is thin, filled with mistakes and on the verge of becoming an outright embarrassment. I see new faces without any institutional knowledge whatsoever. I see empty desks where some of the best people once sat. The people who built this brand. I don't know about being a drag on community dailies, but I do know USAT is dying, so this debate will eventually end on its own.
ReplyDeleteOy! Such a roller coaster, that stock went on today!
ReplyDelete3:58, It was great while we were in Rosslyn, operating like two separate entities. But that toxic GCI environment spread very quickly to the USAT tower not long after we moved to McLean. The atmosphere everywhere now at Crystal Palace is worse than being in a morgue; it's a very cold, unfriendly place.
ReplyDeleteBut....but.... but... but we have Ripple6 and Content One to save us!
ReplyDelete3:58 I don't know where and when USAT went so wrong. It once was a fun place to work, and we had the spirit of creating something new and innovative. Then, sometime around 2000, the atmosphere became poisonous with open back-stabbing and mindless (at least to me) office politics. Overnight, the way to get ahead at USAT was to put someone else down. Actually, not just put down, but ground into the earth, crushed and destroyed. Some people blame Gallagher, but it continued after he left, and it continues today.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed for a job at USAT.
ReplyDeleteThe editor was going to hire me, she said. Gallagher nixed it.
A waste of a lovely blue interview suit.
USAT management deliberately encouraged the corrosive back-stabbing. The management concept was _ and still is _ that as long as the staff is fighting and bickering among themelves, they are not fighting with you.
ReplyDeleteGallagher now thats real jerk
ReplyDeleteGallagher, wasn't he the guy with the flowing red hair and the giant mallet to smash water melons? I love that guy!
ReplyDeleteThe company would love to be taken over, it would love to sell a lot of its papers, there are a lot of things it would like to have happen. But the credit markets are dry. There aren't buyers out there. NYY would give away the Globe for pennies on the dollar, but nobody wants it. Nobody has the cash so it's a moot point
ReplyDeleteRegarding that the community papers, that print USAT, are (not sure what word was used) "propping" up USAT.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. The costs are charged back to USAT by the local paper, but since the local paper is also owned by Gannett, the overall cost to print USAT is much lower when a Gannett site does it -vs- going to an outside vendor.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out."
ReplyDeleteOkay, Robert Goddard, show us the numbers.
"nobody wants it. Nobody has the cash so it's a moot point"
ReplyDeleteBingo. You can't get credit to purchase a business that's smack-dab in the middle of a declining market. You might be able to devise a plan to buy all the papers up, split them up and sell them as independent entities. This would be extremely speculative and until cash frees up in the credit market I don't think anyone's interested in patching up or parting out the USS Gannett.
If that were the case, GM would have been purchased by now.