As the stock market closes at 4:00 p.m. ET today, so does the trading market for Major League Baseball. It's the last day for your favorite playoff contenders to get the pitcher or position player they need to put them over the top without having to clear waivers.
With some 17 teams still in contention for a playoff spot and about 60 games left to play, GMs and fans alike were worked up into a frenzy this afternoon, hoping for the right deal.
In an effort to bolster its starting rotation, The Motley Fool offered Rex Moore, Matt Richey, Tom Jacobs, and Lou Lofton to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, but was promptly rebuffed. Now we're forced to simply wait and see if the Yankees buy the pennant one more time.
In today's Motley Fool Take:
- AOL Optimized
- Quote of Note
- United Shines Online
- Insurance Center
- P& G 's Pearly White Q4
- Discussion Board of the Day: Ask the Headhunter
- Quick Takes: Andarko Petroleum, Netgear, Kos Pharmaceuticals, more
- And Finally...
AOL Optimized
If AOL Time Warner
Last quarter, AOL lost 804,000 subscribers, bringing its total narrowband subs to a number not seen since late 2001 -- about 25 million. In the same quarter, advertising revenue nosedived 48%. Management is hoping that Friday's launch of AOL version 9.0, along with a recent $35 million marketing spree, will stem the bleeding and increase broadband subscriber interest.
The problem is, versions 7.0 and 8.0 -- both of which touted enhanced broadband capabilities -- didn't reverse losses in AOL's member base, and mere content enhancements in version 9.0 aren't likely to do the trick, either. More and more people are subscribing to Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services marketed by the likes of SBC Communications
Cable Internet providers such as Comcast
So, the question is: Launching tomorrow for broadband users and later this summer for all AOL users, how will version 9.0 Optimized (as it's called) steal back market share?
The strategy includes offering AOL-exclusive content from Time Warner's enormous war chest, including Time, People, and Entertainment Weekly articles; enhanced Instant Messenger, including an ability to send photos and audio through IM; better spam filters and new e-mail features; and enhanced broadband content with a more dynamic welcome page. Additionally, Apple's
All these features and exclusive content, marketed well, should be enough to gain new interest from those relatively few Americans who have yet to sign online, but may not be enough to keep AOL subscribers who are ready for something different from moving on. For many, marketing deals from the Baby Bells and competing cable companies keep beckoning. Plus, when you're the largest ISP with perhaps 20% of American households already subscribing, it seems easier to lose market share than gain it.
Quote of Note
"The less people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they'll sleep at night." -- Otto von Bismarck, German statesman, known as the Iron Chancellor, 1815-1898
United Shines Online
By Rex Moore (TMF Orangeblood)
The last time I checked into United Online
As I mentioned then, United's big advantage over competitors is price. It charges about $10 per month for dialup access for its NetZero, Juno, and BlueLight Internet services. By comparison, AOL's charge is pushing $24 per month. At a time when AOL is losing subscribers (if it's even possible to tell how many it really has), United said today that its paying users increased 49% over the past year.
The company also reported earnings of $0.32 per share during its fiscal fourth quarter compared to a $0.07 loss a year ago. Free cash flow continues to improve dramatically, jumping 53% to $18.3 million. For the entire year, it generated $59.1 million in FCF.
That means the stock is trading at 23 times trailing free cash flow, and my back-of-the-envelope calculation/guesstimate tags it at about 18 times fiscal 2004 FCF. Not bad when you consider the 49% subscriber and 66% revenue growth.
The challenge for this company is maintaining strong subscriber growth at a time when the lure of cheaper broadband is siphoning away dialup users. But again, we turn back to its competitive advantage of lower price. There will be a market for dialup access for years to come, and with United's ISPs priced at less than half the others, its competitors have a lot more to worry about than it does.
Insurance Center
From auto to life to disability and long-term care, we can help. Get covered today!
Discussion Board of the Day: Ask the Headhunter
Are you looking for a career change? Do you know where the jobs are? Wondering if "professional loafer" looks awkward on a resume? All this and more -- in the Ask the Headhunter discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
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P&G's Pearly White Q4
Procter & Gamble
Total revenues increased 7% to $10.92 billion, with more than half of that jump stemming from currency effects. P&G's unit volume rose 5%, boosted by double-digit gains from its health-care products division.
For the quarter, P&G earned $955 million, or $0.68 a share, including restructuring costs. That's 5% ahead of the prior quarter's $910 million, or $0.64 a share. Not counting restructuring expenses, P&G's earnings increased 12% to $1.22 billion.
P&G continues to benefit from our obsession with white teeth. The company's Crest Whitestrips and new Crest Night Effect whitener drove the health care products' 18% unit volume growth. Sales improved 12% to $1.39 billion. P&G has been tinkering with pricing to counter Colgate-Palmolive's
P&G also goes head-to-head with Kimberly-Clark
Bottom line: Procter & Gamble continues to execute and is proving itself an adept competitor. For this fiscal year, excluding restructuring items, earnings grew 14% and management looks for more double-digit earnings growth next year.
Quick Takes
Bloomberg reports that fifth-largest U.S. oil and natural gas producer Anadarko Petroleum
Computer networking equipment maker Netgear
Shares of Kos Pharmaceuticals
The Commerce Department said that GDP climbed 2.4% in the second quarter, vs. 1.4% in each of the prior two quarters. The increase was well above economists' estimates of 1.5%. Stocks rose (higher earnings expectations) and bonds fell (higher inflationary expectations).
And Finally...
Today on Fool.com:
- For updated stories throughout the day, bookmark our ever-changing News section.
- Hot for Harley-Davidson: Join LouAnn Lofton in praising an American legend.
- Talking Risk and Diversification: Rex Moore wants you to understand your portfolio's makeup.
- InterVideo 2: Risk vs. Reward: Every stock should offer a positive risk-reward scenario. InterVideo doesn't quite.
- Is Blyth a Rule Maker: This candle maker is a good company at a good price, but is that good enough?
- Fire Sale on Overstock?: The Online liquidator's revenues soar, loss narrows, stock tanks.
Contributors:
Bob Bobala, Robert Brokamp, Paul Elliott, Mathew Emmert, Jeff Fischer, Tom Jacobs, LouAnn Lofton, Bill Mann, Selena Maranjian, Rex Moore, Rick Munarriz, Matt Richey, Reggie Santiago, Kate Southerland, Dayana Yochim