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Layoffs.  Write-offs.  Weak Guidance. Turbulent Times. Uncertainty.  Foggy Futures. Cracked crystal balls.  Caution. Concern.  

In recent weeks, bad financial news has been like a mosquito you know is there but can’t swat.  It’s been a constant, inescapable drone to a market fearful and in need of reassurance; a market in need of Napoleon’s kind of leader.

Tuesday, though Steve Jobs doesn’t typically participate in earnings calls, Apple’s chief made a rare exception to try and offer just such reassurance.  About fifteen minutes in the conference call, he took the helm stating, “Against the backdrop of this global economic slowdown, it seemed a good time to make a few remarks.”

Together with CFO Peter Oppenheimer and COO, Tim Cook, Jobs helped deliver news that was at once both positive and, looking forward, prudently conservative. Click to Read More

Two weeks ago, Netflix provided a window into upcoming earnings with a pre-announcement to reset expectations for the reality of the current economy.  Today, the official results debuted.  New subscriber additions, as the company warned, were weak but net income was up thirty percent.

Reported net income was $20.4m or 33 cents a share for the third quarter, up from 15.7m (23c/share) for the same period last year. Revenues were in at $341m.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had a consensus estimate of 31cents a share from revenue of $343m. 

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In July, the results failed to meet high expectations.  Now, its October, expectations were low and the results exceeded them.  Such is the sometimes awkward reality of predicting the performance of a company that refuses to give much in the way of forward guidance.

Thursday, Google reported third quarter results. They return showed sequential growth is decelerating, but overall the performance was more than enough to best expectations. Net income of $1.35b or $4.24 a share, good enough to best last year’s result of $1.07b (3.38/share) for the same period by 26%. Revenues were also up handsomely to $5.54b from $4.23b last year.   

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Following August’s surprise shortfall, September was set to be a litmus test for measuring the health of the gaming industry in the U.S; a chance to spot test if softness in consumer spending would have impact or if the industry’s record setting pace would resume.  Thursday, the data came out.  NPD released the results of their retail sales survey for the month of September.  The results were, well, mixed. 

Overall, sales fell seven percent year over year to $1.27b in September.    It was the second month in a row, after a streak of 27 months, that sales failed to yield a double digit growth rate.  It was also the first decline since March 2006.

On the face of it, that decline may look troublesome.  Beneath the surface, however, it’s a little more complex. Click to Read More

Like many high profile corporate executives, EA’s CEO John Riccitiello has his share of fans and critics.  They exist among gamers and stock watchers alike. Some support his stewardship of the gaming company.  Other’s can’t stand it.  Regardless of perspective, one thing that’s hard to argue about is his candor.  Riccitiello has a penchant for speaking directly and sharing his thoughts.  In New York for Dow Jones Media Money survey this week, he sounded off on issues from the prospect of working with Google, to Digital Rights Management to the effect of the downturn on the industry.  In summary, without interpretation, here are the excerpts:

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Tuesday, Apple revealed an evolved slate of thin, light, eco-friendly MacBook notebooks to waiting audiences.  Greener, leaner and more powerful than ever, the laptops remain high on style and function but despite prelaunch speculation to the contrary they’re still mostly premium priced, premium products.

Entry priced from $1299 to $1999 (with more expensive configurations also available)  the revised MacBook’s feature aluminum cases, more powerful NVIDIA graphics cards (a dual card structure on the 15 inch MacBook Pro), LED backlit displays and wear-resistant glass multi-touch track pads with near 40% larger usable area than some prior models.

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When conditions are stable and sentiment calm, it’s relatively simple to look backward on recent performance to make educated guesses on near term trends.   But when things start to change suddenly and systematically? Then the prediction game is altogether different.  What advertisers were spending three or six months ago, for example, offers little insight into what they’ll spend three months from now.   

In July, thirteen of the top twenty five Internet advisers by media value were classified as financial services companies (via TNS Media Intelligence).  Where we are today is a different place.  The old rules don’t apply.  Many of the big financial companies that were buying up internet ad real estate are gone; bought out, sold out or shut down.  Those that remain may or may not pick up spending to fill the void. One theory says they will – a rush to reassure the market and address consumer fears.  Another theory says they’ll hoard cash, control non-critical spending and remain cautious.

Around the entire advertising world, online and off, nobody is certain how much of a pullback there might be. Click to Read More