Martin Peers

As CEO Bartz Fiddles With Turnaround, Yahoo’s Stock Value Burns

Kara Swisher in News on July 21, 2011 at 7:05 am PT

Yahoo — which turned in yet another disappointing quarter on Tuesday, but with all new excuses for the continuing decline in revenue — is now getting toasted by Wall Street. That would be the marshmallow — and not the champagne — kind.

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Comcast Could Suffer From Universal Access

Martin Peers, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on September 30, 2010 at 12:00 am PT

Comcast may be paying relatively little to buy control of NBC Universal. But the true cost won’t be clear until regulators have decided what conditions to impose.

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Navigating the Videogame Blizzard

Martin Peers, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on February 22, 2010 at 4:55 am PT

Have investors been spending too much time on old videogames? Judging by the valuation of Electronic Arts, the answer might be yes. Even after a recent selloff, the company’s enterprise value is nine times estimated 2010 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Better-performing Activision Blizzard is at seven times.

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Microsoft's Dropped Call

Martin Peers, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 30, 2009 at 10:34 am PT

Reasons to feel bearish about Microsoft aren’t hard to find. But it’s the software giant’s diminishing profile in the mobile world that is the talk of Silicon Valley right now. The explosion of mobile applications on devices like Apple’s iPhone and Motorola’s Droid presages far-reaching changes in consumer behavior.

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Little Fun in Gaming Take-Two

Martin Peers, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 22, 2009 at 9:18 am PT

There may be an action videogame in the latest maneuvering over Take-Two Interactive Software but that’s likely the only way investors will get something out of it. No one should have any hopes that Carl Icahn, who on Thursday disclosed an 11.3 percent stake in the video game maker, can ride to the rescue.

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Amazon Shows Time Value of Money

Martin Peers, Columnist, Heard on the Street, The Wall Street Journal in News on October 29, 2009 at 12:46 pm PT

Just how long can Amazon put off paying its bills? It’s no secret that Amazon’s financial success is partly based on its ability to take in money for selling merchandise before it has to pay suppliers for those goods. But lately Amazon has gone one better: steadily lengthening the time it takes to pay suppliers. That has been a factor behind the retailer’s soaring cash flow.

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Word to Comcast: Just Don't Touch That Dial

Martin Peers, Columnist, Heard on the Street, The Wall Street Journal in News on October 2, 2009 at 6:31 am PT

Business leaders clearly think the world is back to normal: A media company is weighing a deal of dubious logic. News that Comcast is in talks to buy control of NBC Universal can only confirm cable investors’ worst fears about Comcast’s fixation on expanding in content.

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AT&T Gets a Fuzzy Signal on Apple's iPhone

Martin Peers, Columnist, Heard on the Street, The Wall Street Journal in News on August 31, 2009 at 12:56 pm PT

Did AT&T get a sour apple when it snagged the iPhone? Maybe. AT&T’s exclusive right to offer Apple’s smart phone over the past two years has attracted new customers, and at least initially enhanced the phone company’s image. But it is difficult to know whether those benefits are worth what have been some considerable costs, both short and long term.

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Time for Bewkes to Make It America Offline

Martin Peers, Deputy Media Editor, The Wall Street Journal in News on March 14, 2009 at 12:53 am PT

Time Warner’s hiring of Tim Armstrong to run AOL is, to misquote another Armstrong, a small step for AOL but a giant leap for Time Warner. Whether or not the former Google executive can turn around the AOL business, his hiring clearly sets up AOL to be spun off. That is a step Time Warner must take, having wasted years trying to fix or find a buyer for AOL.