A few more quarters like this, and the market will probably have to recognize InterActiveCorp's
Much like the second-quarter report, the company's earnings report Tuesday was solid with across-the-board growth. Revenues in Barry Diller's conglomerate climbed 55% to $1.48 billion, operating income before amortization more than doubled to $156.3 million, and adjusted net income rose 63% to $114.6 million, or $0.32 per share. Revenues were ahead of the analyst estimate of $1.4 billion, while the earnings figure handily beat the analyst estimate of $0.26.
On a generally accepted accounting principles basis, the company earned $0.19 per share.
InterActiveCorp's growth was widespread. The retailing segment's revenues grew 47% to $749.5 million thanks to the acquisition of Cornerstone Brands as well as growth from the Home Shopping Network. Services revenue jumped 59% to $486.2 million; as in the second quarter, that was driven primarily by LendingTree closing loans in its own name. Meanwhile, the media and advertising segment grew more than tenfold to $83.9 million due to the AskJeeves acquisition, while membership and subscriptions increased revenues 17% to $162.8 million, led by growth in personals.
On a side note, InterActiveCorp said that AskJeeves increased its share of the U.S. search market to 6.4%, though that's still well behind rivals Google
Despite the August spinoff of Expedia
Beyond business, InterActiveCorp is creating value by buying back its stock on the cheap. The company spent $459 million on share repurchases during the quarter, buying back 18.1 million shares at an average of $25.36 each. This year, the company has spent a total of $1.6 billion on share repurchases, and it now has $1.3 billion in cash net of debt on its balance sheet.
The company is in good shape, and I still think it is worth a look at its current price of around $27 per share.
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Fool contributor Jeff Hwang owns shares of InterActiveCorp and Expedia.