[Updated at 4:32 p.m. ET with closing prices.]
Investors gave Gannett's stock the cold shoulder, despite this morning's surprise announcement that the board of directors has doubled the dividend amid a second-quarter earnings release.
With overall markets tanking, GCI closed this afternoon at $13.01 a share, down 47 cents, or 3.5%, according to Google Finance. Other newspaper publishers' stocks sank, too.
Both the widely-watched S&P 500 index, which measures broader market activity, and the better known Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell nearly 1%. Observers are citing EU debt and U.S. deficit-reduction worries.
Earlier, GCI shares were up as much as 2%.
Monday, July 18, 2011
7 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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Wall Street generally selling off today, but the hit to gannett means no one buying management's latest bullshit. Same old story about how things are going to be better. Look for furloghs and layoffs to finance dividend hike and execuive bonuses.
ReplyDeleteThe best use of capital is buying back $100 million in gci stock? Morons.
ReplyDeletePlan that week to two week furlough NOW before the layoffs come.
ReplyDeleteIt's simple: The Street is not going to get enthusiastic about GCI again until the revenue bleed stops. Same with LEE, MNI, JRN, AHC and so forth. This is not a Gannett thing. It is an industry thing.
ReplyDeletebtw, I was never a fan of Saridakis, but he did predict that the paywalls would fail miserably. i remember he was even quoted as saying he would "bet is net worth" that they would fail.
ReplyDeletealso, looks like there are not many advertisers on their ipad app for usat.
I cannot believe that it is taking this long to "test" new business models.
These executives should be fired.
If you only knew how far the pageview and daily visitors numbers have dropped after putting up the paywalls...OMG.
ReplyDeleteI love newspapers as I believe most viewing this blog do. Whether we're still employed by Gannett or not the reality is we're watching the demise of an industry and it hurts. Management has showed they are trying a parade of people and ideas but are strapped by the costly, once proud economic driver of the corporation- Print. Everything was based on the volume of readers print brought. Print was and is the place Gannett promotes itself and the many, too many great options readers and advertisers have. But print is dwindling if not dying. Continued substantial ad revenue losses, ongoing reduction in circ draw to avoid returns, cuts in staff is all understandable given the economic conditions. However, I don't see cuts at the top and given the dramatic reductions in revenue, and employees over the past few years the corporation is growing top heavy in what is simply a trend in the winding down of print.
ReplyDeleteI still buy a paper every day but often can't find a paper after 8:00am at Starbucks and often wonder where the rest of the paper went.
RIP newspapers.