Q4 2008 Earnings Call

February 26, 2009 4:30 pm ET

Q3 2008 Earnings Call

November 10, 2008 4:30 p.m. ET

Q2 2008 Earnings Call

August 7, 2008 5:00 pm ET

Companies that want to avoid being targeted by short-sellers may want to make sure their corporate governance is in order.

The Financial Times quotes a leading hedge fund investor as saying that companies that do not comply with high standards of good governance are ripe for short-selling. Bill Hwang, chief executive and founder of Tiger Asia Asset Management, which has about $12bn invested in short-selling positions in Korean, Japanese and Chinese equities, said a bet that these companies’ stocks would fall was a good one.

Q1 2008 Earnings Call

May 12, 2008 5:00 pm ET

Manager: Larry Sarbit, president and CEO, Sarbit Asset Management

Style: Value & business approach

ShoWest--the annual conference for movie distributors (divisions of media companies) and exhibitors (movie theater chains)--is underway in Las Vegas. This is where the movie studios show off their big products they hope will be blockbusters to get the theater owners excited to fill their seats. It's also where all the suppliers to theaters show off their wares. An entire Las Vegas conference hall is filled with the latest popcorn and hot dog machines and fancy movie theater candy (my favorite part), as well as plush stadium-style seats.

There's good news. After years of concerns about a declining box office, the mood is optimistic following news of a record box office in 2007. A number of the theater companies have consolidated or gone public, and they're installing state of the art technology and seats to make their theaters that much more appealing. The movie theaters owners and studios are together moving towards digitizing the 38,000 movie theaters nation-wide, which is a way to cut the cost of making and shipping prints (they can be distributed digitally) and a way to upgrade quality.

Everything costs more these days, even a night at the movies. I spent $14 on a movie ticket the other day--I can't even admit how much my husband and I spent on a tub of popcorn! Yes, it was a fancy new theater but there's no question, movie ticket costs are going up across the board.

It's a combination of inflation, and pressure on theater owners to upgrade everything from their projectors to their seats. And commodity prices -- including higher fuel prices-- are directly pushing the price of popcorn and other snacks up. So don't be surprised if Raisinettes cost $5 bucks next time you go to the movies.

The Quarter

Q4 2007 Earnings Call

February 28, 2008 5:00 pm ET

Deutsche Bank [DB] is out with a positive call on DTS Inc. (DTSI) saying that following 350 retail store checks yesterday, they are optimistic Blu-ray can have a near-term positive impact on DTS in 1H08 as pent-up demand appears to have accelerated Blu-ray player sales over the last two weeks. The firm reiterates their Buy rating as DTS' surround sound technology is mandatory on all Blu-ray players, suggesting an addressable market of $150m+ in revenue (vs. $50m today) and peak EPS of $2.00-$4.00 per share.

DB notes they were surprised to discover that 43% of Blu-ray players in stores are sold out. There has been an increase in demand over the last two weeks. This suggests that DTS is likely to experience the inflection point in the Blu-ray cycle earlier than the firm thought, possibly 2Q08. This faster adoption could drive an additional $0.05-$0.10 EPS to their $0.73 pro forma EPS forecast for 2008.

Deutsche Bank is out with a positive call on Sigma Designs (NASDAQ:SIGM) saying their meeting with the management at CES indicated that the potential competition from Broadcom and ST Micro has not yet materialized. SIGM stock has recently declined in value over unsubstantiated speculation of competitive solutions taking market share in the IPTV and Blu-ray DVD segments.

Firm's checks indicate that Sigma's competitors, despite announcing new products at the CES show, are still not certified by Microsoft for its IPTV platform. They view this as validation for Sigma's superior software/hardware IPTV solution and should help lay to rest concerns of market share loss in 2008.

1. MannKind Corp. (MNKD) CEO Alfred E. Mann appeared on CNBC Monday, telling viewers the company is investing in inhalable insulin, aiming to gain market share Pfizer (PFE) didn't. Mann says PFE didn't focus on the right areas to succeed in the inhaled insulin market. He also believes MNKD will prevail over Eli Lilly (LLY). Mann epects to file for approval at the end of 2008 for its inhalable insulin product. Shares shot up 11%.
2. Toronto Dominion (TD) fell suddenly Monday morning on rumors of writedown concerns. Earlier, the Globe and Mail reported TD and Commerce Bancorp (CBH) are amending their $8.5B takeover deal in order to appease shareholders that have filed lawsuits, alleging TD was not paying enough for Commerce.
3. Rio Tinto (RTP) may be considering an offer for Xemplar Energy after Xemplar revealed what is believed to be one of the world's largest uranium deposits.
4. Kaufman Bros. says Warner Brothers (TWX) Friday move to use Blu-Ray as its exclusive high definition format is a positive for DTS (DTSI) and Dolby (DLB), which receive royalties on every Blu-Ray player sold.
5. Some analysts expect Apple's (AAPL) Steve Jobs to throw his support behind Sony's Blu-ray disc format at Jan. 15 MacWorld.
6. U.S. wireless carrier customers of Samsung saw slowing cellphone sales at the end of Q4. CEO Bill Ogle isn't sure if the slowdown was due to customer contract expirations or economic concerns. U.S. carrier customers include AT&T (T), Verizon Wireless (VZ, VOD) and Sprint Nextel (S).
7. Business Standard reports that Daimler AG (DAI) is set to buy 26% of bus body builder Sutleg Motors. Daimler denies the reports.
8. Answers (ANSW) is working with Nokia (NOK) to give Nokia Series 40 and S60 device users access to Answers' collection of over 4 million answers.
9. Amazon.com (AMZN) has quietly launched a new software download service that allows customers to purchase and download software directly from its site.
10. Reliance Communications [RCom] gave Symantec (SYMC) a multi-million dollar deal to overhaul its existing IT systems.
11. The FCC appears to be close to approving the $19.5B private-equity takeover of Clear Channel (CCU). Consent has been given by three FCC commissioners; others are expected to follow. High-level discussions are underway between CCU’s private equity buyers and their financiers as to whether room exists to change financing terms.
12. Southwest Airlines (LUV) will boost revenue by charging customers an additional $25 for a third piece of luggage, and even higher fees for each piece above three.
13. Smith & Nephew (SNN) is under investigation over allegations it was involved in a kickback scheme in Iraq.
14. Finish Line (FINL) may have to shut stores or even divisions if forced to complete its $1.5B takeover of Genesco (GCO). CEO Alan Cohen says he's taking a "wait and see" approach as to whether UBS (UBS) will be forced to finance the buyout.
15. Seagate (STX) will produce one terabyte drives aimed at the digital video recorder market.
16. Sybase (SY) could see further pressure from its largest shareholder, Sandell Asset Management, as the firm is likely moving too slowly in its review of strategic alternatives.

2. Slower hardware spending? UBS downgraded IBM (IBM) and Network Appliance (NTAP) to "neutral" early Monday, due to its outlook for slower hardware spending. UBS prefers Apple (AAPL) and HP (HPQ). Apple has new growth opportunities, and IBM is a "unique" defensive play.

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DTS Inc. (DTSI)
Q2 2007 Earnings Call
August 9, 2007 5:00 pm ET

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DTS Inc. (DTSI)
Q1 2007 Preliminary Earnings Call
May 10, 2007 5:00 pm ET

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DTS, Inc. (DTSI)
Q4 2006 Earnings Call
February 20, 2007 5:00 pm ET

Executives

Erica Abrams - IR
Jon Kirchner - President and CEO
Mel Flanigan - CFO

Digital Theater Systems (DTSI)
Q2 2006 Earnings Conference Call
August 9, 2006 5:00 pm ET