Market Currents

• Thursday, November 12, 2009

• 09:21 AM A very positive art auction at Sotheby's (BID) has some thinking the art-market slump may be on the mend. At an auction of post-war and contemporary art last night in Manhattan, BID brought in $134.4M, blowing away internal estimates of $67.9-$97.7M, and also beating its $125M sale of a year ago. 52 of the 54 works offered found buyers. Comment!

• Thursday, November 5, 2009

• 17:02 PM Sotheby's (BID): Q3 EPS of -$0.89 misses by $0.58. Revenue of $45M (-41%) vs. $60M. (PR) 1 Comment
• 00:10 AM Notable postmarket earnings: ATML, ATVI, BID, CBS, CIM, CROX, EOG, HANS, IGT, IPI, JDSU, LEAP, NVDA, PSA, SBUX, SD, SUN, SWKS, TIE, TS, VRSN Comment!

• Monday, October 12, 2009

• 15:50 PM Another nail in the coffin of Western economic dominance: Sotheby's (BID) raised more in two fine wine auctions in Hong Kong this year than in four similar auctions in New York and seven in London. 1 Comment

• Friday, September 18, 2009

• 14:21 PM A week of Asian art auctions offered early signs that some overseas collectors (largely from China and India) are back in the market. Christie's and Sotheby's (BID) took in almost $56M combined, vs. top forecasts of $41M, but well below last year's $157M. Comment!

• Tuesday, August 4, 2009

• 16:15 PM Sotheby's (BID): Q2 EPS of $0.18 misses by $0.10. Revenue of $167M (-48%) vs. $153M. (PR) Comment!
• 00:10 AM Notable earnings after Tuesday's close: ACAS, AUY, BID, BMC, BRE, CAR, CBL, CEDC, CEPH, CTRP, ERTS, FRT, HLS, JLL, KFT, PL, PXD, SOLR, TSRA, UDR, UNM, VCLK, WFMI, XCO 1 Comment

• Thursday, May 7, 2009

• 09:20 AM Sotheby's (BID): Q1 EPS of -$0.53 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $54M (-27.3%) vs. $55M. (PR) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Thursday's open: ACM, ANSS, ARE, ATPG, BID, BCE, CAM, CLR, CSE, CVC, CXW, DTV, DYN, FTO, FTR, GG, GM, GNA, HOC, HRP, LAMR, LINE, LXP, NDAQ, OHI, PCS, PRGO, PXP, RDC, RGLD, SLE, TDC, WEN Comment!

• Wednesday, May 6, 2009

• 15:33 PM A $61.3M Sotheby's (BID) auction was a disappointment, with works by Picasso and Giacometti left on the block. The mood of the auction was sober: there were empty seats in the front rows, and some high-flyers didn't show up. Comment!

• Tuesday, May 5, 2009

• 11:55 AM S&P downgrades Sotheby's (BID) corporate rating three notches to BB-, following "a severe decline in company performance due to the greatly reduced art auction market." Absent an amendment or other relief, Sotheby's is likely to breach a financial covenant in the near term. BID -2.6%. Comment!

• Thursday, February 26, 2009

• 16:07 PM Sotheby's (BID): Q4 EPS of -$0.13 vs. consensus of $0.20. Revenue of $166.2M (-51.9%) vs. $177.9M. "For the first nine months of 2008, our aggregate auction sales were at record levels. But from October onwards, virtually every auction around the world experienced declines." (PR) Comment!
• 15:10 PM Notable earnings after Thursday's close: ADSK, BCSI, BEE, BID, BVN, CTV, CVA, DELL, FCH, GPS, HANS, HGSI, IO, KSS, LEAP, ME, NOVL, PSA, RSG, SBAC, SD, SGMS, SNH, SWN Comment!
• 00:10 AM Notable earnings after Thursday's close: ADSK, BEE, BID, BVN, CTV, CVA, DELL, FCH, GPS, HANS, HGSI, IO, KSS, LEAP, ME, NOVL, PSA, RSG, SBAC, SD, SGMS, SNH, SWN Comment!

• Tuesday, February 10, 2009

• 15:04 PM Sotheby's (BID) may have its credit rating cut to junk as revenue falls and leverage increases on 'significant' losses from guarantees. S&P thinks "revenues will decline substantially over the near term due to the decline in the worldwide art auction market." BID -8.7%. Comment!

• Wednesday, November 12, 2008

• 07:57 AM Collectors picked through big-name contemporary art at discount prices last night at Sotheby's (BID). The 43 lots that sold in the 63-lot auction totaled $125.1M, far short of the presale low estimate of $202.4M. Comment!