Examining Groupon's Q3 Results: Neither Solid Nor Indicative Of Its Long-Term Potential [View article]
By that logic, the company's accounts receivable should then also count as cash. After all, the company will convert them into cash at some point, just as it will with accounts payable and merchants payable (which are far larger than accounts payable). Net cash calculations need to be calculated using cash and true debt, not working capital assets and liabilities. That is true for all companies, not just Groupon. While it is true that Groupon has $573.477 million in merchants payable, that entire balance will never be paid off. It will be rolled over, as "maturing" payables are replaced with new ones. The same is true of accounts receivable. Groupon will never fully convert them into cash, because they will be rolled over constantly, with the company converting some into cash as new receivables come in.
Clearwire's Q3 Earnings: Addressing Spectrum Monetization, Governance, And The Long-Term Potential [View article]
Mount Kellet is a fairly vocal investor, and they are not known to sit quetly if they are displeased with the management of the companies they invest in. We suspect that there will be more noise from Mount Kellet regarding the treatment of minority shareholders. They explicityl referenced the fact that Clearwire's board has a fiduciary duty to ALL investors, a point that we have been arguing for some time. As to whether or not this pushes up the timetable for a buyout, that is not something we can comment on with certainty at this point in time. We suspect that, at a minimum, Sprint's executives have read the letter and SEC filing released today, and that they are aware of the issue. But, we do not think that this development, on its own, will accelerate Sprint's timetable. However, the potential is there, especially if Mount Kellet continues to be vocal, or if it moves from talk to action.
Thoughts On Apple's Ousting Of Forstall And Browett: Asserting Cook's Authority, Solidifying Jobs' Vision [View article]
Thanks for reading. We were puzzled by that phrase appearing constantly in the article as well. It seems that in the submission process, SA's servers somehow replaced words such as "said," "stated," or "noted" with that phrase. It was not how we submitted the article, for the attached source links to our quotes, such as those from Laurene Jobs or Steve Jobs were removed as well, for they were linked to in the words "said," "stated," or "noted."
Thoughts On Apple's Ousting Of Forstall And Browett: Asserting Cook's Authority, Solidifying Jobs' Vision [View article]
As we stated in an above comment, something seems to have gone wrong in the submission process. The phrase "much more obvious" was inserted throughout the article, and the source links to various quotes and pieces of information were removed. We will contact the editorial team to get these issues fixed.
Thoughts On Apple's Ousting Of Forstall And Browett: Asserting Cook's Authority, Solidifying Jobs' Vision [View article]
There seems to be some sort of error in the submission process. For example, the phrase "Laurene Jobs herself stated that...." was turned into "Laurene Jobs herself were much more obvious..." The same issue appears later in the phrase "As Business Insider were much more obvious..." it was originally supposed to say "As Business Insider stated..."
Somehow, the servers seemed to insert the phrase "were much more obvious" into the article in place of the original text. The source links to those quotes were also removed. We are going to contact the editorial team to see what happened and begin fixing those typos, for that is not how the piece was originally submitted.
Clearwire's Q3 Earnings: Addressing Spectrum Monetization, Governance, And The Long-Term Potential [View article]
On the call, Clearwire also mentioned IFRS as being a factor in whether or not Clearwire's financials will be consolidated. SoftBank will technically own 35% of Clearwire once it gains its 70% stake, and that could factor into whether or not a consolidation occurs.
Microsoft: Windows 8 Shows Why Steve Ballmer Must Go, And Why That Is A Buying Opportunity [View article]
Part of the problem stems from the fact that Microsoft has a fairly weak board. Gates is the chairman, and it will take a lot of prodding to convince him of the need to oust Ballmer, a longtime friend. And the company's other board members have shown little inkling to challenge Gates. Perhaps whoever replaces Reed Hastings as director will be more inclined to voice concern over the company's direction.
Microsoft: Windows 8 Shows Why Steve Ballmer Must Go, And Why That Is A Buying Opportunity [View article]
In the long run, however, it is relevant. Those people under 40 will become the next wave of CIO's and CTO's in corporate America, and they will retain their opinion of Microsoft as they start to become the ones writing the checks.
Microsoft: Windows 8 Shows Why Steve Ballmer Must Go, And Why That Is A Buying Opportunity [View article]
Kevin Turner could be a good choice of whom to bring back. And we are not sure that not buying Yahoo is a failure. The company certainly has a chance to reclaim its place as a Silicon Valley leader under Marissa Mayer, for she has more qualifications than all of Yahoo's last several CEO's combined. But would Yahoo without Mayer at the helm be able to turn itself around? It is certainly possible, but we feel that Microsoft already has enough on its plate to deal with. The restoration of employee morale is essential, for many Microsoft employees no longer see their company as the best place in the world to work.
Fusion-io: Solid Prospects, But The Catch-22 In Its Business Model Makes Takeover Speculation Unwarranted [View article]
Fusion-io's conference call next week will probably feature a good deal of questions about NetApp and where things stand with regards to their deal. The fact that Fusion-io reports a day before Apple should also be remembered. It is possible that, depending on what the company says, there could be some read-through into Apple's results. We will be listening in carefully to see what the company has to say.
As Sprint And SoftBank Talks Continue, Where Does Clearwire Stand? [View article]
Using our calculations from the article, a debt reduction of $400 million would yield a per share value of $5.60, assuming other variables were kept the same.
As Sprint And SoftBank Talks Continue, Where Does Clearwire Stand? [View article]
As with almost everything involving Sprint & Clearwire, this latest development is not as simple as it seems. Intel has received right of first offer for Eagle River's shares (http://reut.rs/R4O0Ym), and it has 30 days to respond and make a better offer. And furthermore, Sprint will most likely have to consolidate Clearwire's financials into its own, given that it holds a majority stake (http://on.wsj.com/Ub2MRY). It is unlikely that this is the last development, and there will probably be more new developments in the days ahead.
As Sprint And SoftBank Talks Continue, Where Does Clearwire Stand? [View article]
As we stated in the article, a deal may not be announced this week, and that investors need to plan accordingly. Any takeover offer for a public company is about unlocking a large portion of the company's long-term standalone value today. For example, Company A is trading at $5 today, and management has a clear plan to get to $10 within 5 years. But, Company B comes along and offers $7.50 today. Do you take it? Possibly, if you value $7.50 today more than $10 in 5 years, or whatever the time horizon in question is.
It seems that Sprint does not want to try and do 2 deals at once, and it seems that the company will not move on Clearwire until the SoftBank deal closes. And until that deal closes, Clearwire's shares will likely see increased volatility. Furthermore, this news will make for a terribly awkward Q3 earnings conference call, unless something is announced within the next few weeks. Analysts will want to talk only about the company's strategic direction, and CEO Erik Prusch and CFO Hope Cochran will be unable to tell them what they want to hear. The Sprint/SoftBank deal is still a positive for Clearwire. One of the overhangs on the stock has been the perceived financial weakness of Sprint, and how that affects Sprint's ability to assist in financing Clearwire if and when the company needs financing. A financially stronger Sprint is good for Clearwire. And there still exists the possibility that Sprint's hand will be forced. It controls 48% of Clearwire, and it is possible that another player may move to gain control of the other 52%. Even an attempt to do so may cause Sprint to act. With Google and Time Warner Cable out, we are looking at the equityholder's agreement that binds Clearwire's strategic investors to see what alterations, if any, there are to account for this.
We have always been clear that we view Clearwire as a long-term investment, not one to trade in and out of. And while, on balance, we would of course like to see the company's value unlocked via a takeover sooner rather then later, it will be unlocked eventually, either by Clearwire, activist investors, Sprint, or some other savvy wireless company.
As Sprint And SoftBank Talks Continue, Where Does Clearwire Stand? [View article]
The deal with SoftBank has effectively put Clearwire into play. And while Sprint is Clearwire's largest investor, Clearwire's board still has a fiduciary duty to outside investors. And Sprint does not control Clearwire's board. To get them to sign off on a deal, Sprint may have to make an offer for the entire company, not just the few percent it needs to have majority control. Furthermore, the equityholder's agreement that binds Clearwire's strategic investors (Sprint, Comcast, etc...) requires a 75% voting approval to effect a change in control of Clearwire.
Examining Groupon's Q3 Results: Neither Solid Nor Indicative Of Its Long-Term Potential [View article]
Clearwire's Q3 Earnings: Addressing Spectrum Monetization, Governance, And The Long-Term Potential [View article]
Thoughts On Apple's Ousting Of Forstall And Browett: Asserting Cook's Authority, Solidifying Jobs' Vision [View article]
Thoughts On Apple's Ousting Of Forstall And Browett: Asserting Cook's Authority, Solidifying Jobs' Vision [View article]
Thoughts On Apple's Ousting Of Forstall And Browett: Asserting Cook's Authority, Solidifying Jobs' Vision [View article]
Somehow, the servers seemed to insert the phrase "were much more obvious" into the article in place of the original text. The source links to those quotes were also removed. We are going to contact the editorial team to see what happened and begin fixing those typos, for that is not how the piece was originally submitted.
Clearwire's Q3 Earnings: Addressing Spectrum Monetization, Governance, And The Long-Term Potential [View article]
Microsoft: Windows 8 Shows Why Steve Ballmer Must Go, And Why That Is A Buying Opportunity [View article]
Microsoft: Windows 8 Shows Why Steve Ballmer Must Go, And Why That Is A Buying Opportunity [View article]
Microsoft: Windows 8 Shows Why Steve Ballmer Must Go, And Why That Is A Buying Opportunity [View article]
Microsoft: Windows 8 Shows Why Steve Ballmer Must Go, And Why That Is A Buying Opportunity [View article]
Fusion-io: Solid Prospects, But The Catch-22 In Its Business Model Makes Takeover Speculation Unwarranted [View article]
As Sprint And SoftBank Talks Continue, Where Does Clearwire Stand? [View article]
As Sprint And SoftBank Talks Continue, Where Does Clearwire Stand? [View article]
As Sprint And SoftBank Talks Continue, Where Does Clearwire Stand? [View article]
It seems that Sprint does not want to try and do 2 deals at once, and it seems that the company will not move on Clearwire until the SoftBank deal closes. And until that deal closes, Clearwire's shares will likely see increased volatility. Furthermore, this news will make for a terribly awkward Q3 earnings conference call, unless something is announced within the next few weeks. Analysts will want to talk only about the company's strategic direction, and CEO Erik Prusch and CFO Hope Cochran will be unable to tell them what they want to hear. The Sprint/SoftBank deal is still a positive for Clearwire. One of the overhangs on the stock has been the perceived financial weakness of Sprint, and how that affects Sprint's ability to assist in financing Clearwire if and when the company needs financing. A financially stronger Sprint is good for Clearwire. And there still exists the possibility that Sprint's hand will be forced. It controls 48% of Clearwire, and it is possible that another player may move to gain control of the other 52%. Even an attempt to do so may cause Sprint to act. With Google and Time Warner Cable out, we are looking at the equityholder's agreement that binds Clearwire's strategic investors to see what alterations, if any, there are to account for this.
We have always been clear that we view Clearwire as a long-term investment, not one to trade in and out of. And while, on balance, we would of course like to see the company's value unlocked via a takeover sooner rather then later, it will be unlocked eventually, either by Clearwire, activist investors, Sprint, or some other savvy wireless company.
As Sprint And SoftBank Talks Continue, Where Does Clearwire Stand? [View article]