In baseball farm-club systems, you'll often find young talent that gets called up to the majors way too early. It rarely works out. The starry-eyed hurler or promising slugger clearly has the required skills, but he's lacking the seasoned development that baseball often requires from its pro players.
What does a baseball analogy have to do with WorldSpace (NASDAQ:WRSP)? Well, it's become pretty apparent since the company's IPO earlier this year that this is not a company ready for the Wall Street show. The sizzle was there, as XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) and Sirius (NASDAQ:SIRI) had appreciated many times over in value over the past three years. Unfortunately, even if you're bearish on XM and Sirius, you would probably still agree that WorldSpace isn't quite in their league.
XM and Sirius combine for more than 7 million subscribers. They will top the 9 million mark by the end of next month. WorldSpace? It claims just 75,000 paying subscribers, nearly half of them in India. Unfortunately for WorldSpace, the average subscriber in India is paying just a fourth of what XM and Sirius are charging domestically.
The company can boast about 78% subscriber growth, but revenue inched just 51% higher to a mere $2.4 million.
If there's one benefit to this botched IPO, now trading for nearly half of its August debut's price, it's that the company's $296.5 million in balance-sheet greenery should at least give the stock a floor. However, having roughly $9 a share in cash is partly offset by $150 million in total debt at WorldSpace. The company also sports negative book value because of a huge $1.8 billion sum in contingent royalty obligations.
WorldSpace is ramping up its marketing efforts, since its global configuration allows the company to reach radio buffs in different continents. So, yes, in a few years -- perhaps more than a few -- WorldSpace may become a Wall Street All-Star. For now? Sorry, WorldSpace. Single-A is calling. It wants you back.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz thinks it's cool that Sirius broadcasts The Motley Fool Radio Show four times over the weekend. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. He is a satellite radio subscriber.The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
