ValueClick Misses Estimates, Guides Down

Internet advertising company ValueClick Inc. said Monday Q2 profit rose 22% to $17.6 million ($0.17/share) from $14.4 million ($0.14) a year ago -- just short of analyst estimates of $0.18/share. Shares are down more than 20% after the company lowered its 2007 EPS estimate from $0.79-0.81/share to $0.74-0.76. Sales revenue climbed to $148.7 million from $130 million. "The promotion-based sector suffered a downturn that began in late May and became more pronounced in June, which negatively impacted our quarter," said CEO Tom Vadnais. "We have reassessed our outlook on the promotion-based business and have taken aggressive steps to bring its costs in line with the changes occurring in this part of the industry. We expect to see the full impact of this cost-cutting initiative in the fourth quarter." JMP Securities was less optimistic in its post-earnings note: "This is the first quarter that ValueClick has missed our expectations and its financial guidance since we have been covering the stock in the past six years," analyst Bill Morrison wrote. "Our experience suggests that its challenges within its lead generation business are likely to take several quarters to fix." ValueClick's Q2 earnings call is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET (transcript later today).

Sources: Press release, Bloomberg, MarketWatch
Commentary: ValueClick Stock Finally Losing Steam • ValueClick Names New CEO; Takeover Hopes Fade • Will ValueClick Be The Next Online Ad Firm To Get Acquired?
Stocks/ETFs to watch: VCLK. Competitors: AQNT

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Comments

[Ralph F:]

<blockquote>"The promotion-based sector suffered a downturn that began in late May and became more pronounced in June, which negatively impacted our quarter," said CEO Tom Vadnais.</blockquot...

Does that mean advertisers are moving to CPC from CPA advertising?

2007 Jul 30 10:37 AM