Slumpin' Jupiter

It's a good thing that Jupitermedia (Nasdaq: JUPM  ) is rich in digital photography, because it sure knows how to take shots at its investors. The online media company posted disappointing quarterly results last night.

It's a familiar place for the company, having now missed Wall Street's profit targets in each of the last six quarters. Revenues dipped 1% lower to $34.7 million. Earnings fell from $0.07 per share a year earlier to just $0.02 per share. If you're generous, you can tack on another penny to back out stock-based compensation. It's still a miss, though. Analysts were expecting Jupitermedia to earn $0.04 a share on $36.3 million in revenues.  

There was a slight 2% uptick in the company's bread-and-butter online images business. It now accounts for 79% of total revenues and it explains why niche leader Getty Images (NYSE: GYI  ) was in talks to acquire the company earlier this year. Those talks broke down in March, if only to prove that potential suitors can be as disillusioned with Jupitermedia as its shareholders.

It's not going to get better. The company's third-quarter profit guidance is a penny below where the pros are perched. If history is any kind of teacher, Jupitermedia will find a way to let Wall Street down again even if comes down to the company's level.

It's a shame because Jupitermedia has a rich portfolio of properties that are just begging to be better exploited in more capable monetizing hands. The company watches over 150 different websites that generate more than 400 million monthly page views. It also manages 150 email newsletters that have been opted into by 20 million readers.

The company's collection of Web industry destinations includes Internet.com, Graphics.com, and the recently acquired MediaBistro.com.

I realize that Jupitermedia isn't the only content-rich network for IT professionals that is currently out of favor. CNET Networks (Nasdaq: CNET  ) has been trading in the single digits for nearly a year now. Dice (NYSE: DHX  ) is trading for less than last month's IPO price. However, Jupitermedia is digging its own irrelevant grave by perpetually disappointing investors.

Acquisitions aren't growing the top line, so the company is out to whack its overhead. Jupitermedia expects to improve after-tax cash flows by at least $4 million once its restructuring is complete. That may be the tonic to reverse the cruel trend, but it's just sad to see a promising company trying so hard to make its pennies last longer when it should be thriving during the Internet usage boom.

Other snapshots worth taking a peek at:

• Jupitermedia became an image-pitching force three years ago.
• Jupitermedia was looking pretty as a picture two years ago.
• It didn't look so fetching back in March when it delayed its quarterly results as buyout talks broke off.

CNET is a Rule Breakers stock pick. You don't need to be a shutterbug -- or even a media pro -- to grab a free 30-day trial subscription to the newsletter service.    

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz isn't photogenic enough to wonder if his likeness is available in royalty-free form. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.