AOL, Inc. (AOL) Beats Estimates But Domestic Ad Revenues Disappoint

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AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL) announced its third quarter results today that beat Wall Street estimates for revenue and earnings. For the first time in seven years, the company’s revenues didn’t decline. Despite beating estimates, the company’s key domestic display number slipped 3 percent, and overall display sales were down 1 percent, compared to a 7 percent increase last year, helped by AOL’s network ads and its search business.

AOL, Inc. (AOL) Beats Estimates But Domestic Ad Revenues Disappoint

“Domestic display revenue declined due to a reduction in the sale of reserved inventory, but was partially offset by an increase in the number of impressions sold through Ad.com, growth in reserved pricing, due to the increased sales of premium formats and video, and strong revenue growth from Patch” company said in a statement.

The Web services company, led by the chairman and CEO, Tim Armstrong, reported earnings of $20.8 million, compared with a loss of $2.6 million in the year-ago period. Revenue for the quarter remained flat at $531.7 million with earnings per share (EPS) of $0.22. In the same period a year ago, the company reported a net loss of $0.02 on revenues of $531.7 million. Third-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.17 and $521.56 million in revenues. Global advertising revenues were up 7 percent, with 18 percent growth in international markets offsetting a 3 percent U.S. decline. Another encouraging piece of news for the online company was the increase in the traffics numbers for the sites AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL) owns, which were up by 4 percent, after declining for quite some time now.

“We just reported the best relative revenue performance in seven years and the second consecutive quarter of year-over-year profit growth, exceeding our expectations. We have positioned AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL) for growth in 2013 and beyond, with consumer and advertiser demand growing for our premium content and innovative products, video, services, and ads” said CEO Tim Armstrong.

For the fourth quarter, analysts estimate an EPS of $0.35 on revenue of $564.94 million, while, for the full fiscal year ending in December, EPS is expected to total $1.29 on revenue of $2.15 billion. AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL) shares are up 135 percent this year and are one of the hottest stocks in tech segment. In the premarket trading, this morning, company’s shares are up almost 3 percent at $36.85.

 

 

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