Q1 Earnings Review: VIA, CVC, GM, AIG

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Q1 Earnings Review: VIA, CVC, GM, AIG

Viacom

Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA) will hit the markets before the open today with an earnings conference call at 8:30AM EST. The owner of Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon and MTV is expected by analysts to earn $0.89/share in the second quarter of 2012, which is the period ended March 31, 2012. This is up 24% from the same quarter in 2011 and indicates a trend in earnings that analysts expect the firm to continue through 2012, with consensus annual earnings estimated at $4.25 per share, up from $3.78 per share in the previous fiscal year. Viacom is actively studying how to better drive content in the new era of tablet viewing, which bodes well for future earnings growth.
Earnings came in above analyst forecasts: For Q1, Viacom reported a profit of $590 million, or $1.07 a share, compared to a profit of $376 million, or $0.63 last year.

Cablevision

The cable television system operator Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) will be releasing first quarter 2012 earnings before the market opens on May 3, 2012. The consensus estimate for Cablevision is $0.19 per share, which is down 21% from the first quarter of 2011. Annual earnings are also expected to be off as cable revenues continue to decline in an industry that has most certainly peaked, especially with the threat of further economic downturns turning customers towards cheaper internet alternatives.  However the firm’s strong cash flow has kept analysts interested and the majority have a ‘hold’ rating on the firm.

Earnins beat coming in at $0.21 a share, and net revenues grew 0.2% to $1.659 billion

GM

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), the sales leader in the U.S. market for automobiles, is scheduled to provide its first quarter 2012 earnings release on May 3rd. Analysts are estimating first quarter earnings of $0.85 per share, which would be down slightly from the $0.95 earned in the same period in 2012. Earnings for the year are also expected to be off, mostly related to anticipated economic slowdowns, with the firm predicted to earn $3.65 in 2012, down from $3.88 in the prior year. General Motors was down 1.63% in trading on May 2nd ahead of its earnings.
GM’s income in the first three months of the year fell to 0.93 cents a share, which is far above analyst estimates.

AIG

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG)  is a leading insurance company worldwide with a presence in 130 countries. While the United States government will be attempting to exit the their 77% equity stake in the insurance giant in the coming years, the firm continues to product erratic earnings results, and as such there is a wide range of analyst opinion on this quarter’s release. The low estimate is $0.62 per share in earnings, while on the high side we see $1.92 per share being predicted. The weighted average amongst analysts for the quarter works out to $1.12 per share. Annual earnings are estimated to be a threefold increase over 2011, at $3.03 per share.

 

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