On Thursday, after the markets closed, Textura announced that it acquired LATISTA for $35 million in cash; the deal is expected to close on December 2. LATISTA provides in‐the‐field project management applications, such as punch lists and document management. The company has a similar business model to Textura, as it charges general contractors based on…
Western Digital posted third quarter results that surpassed our expectations and management’s quarterly guidance, making it clear that the market hasn’t forgotten about hard disk drives (HDDs). While Western Digital’s near-term prospects are better than we had anticipated, we are maintaining our stable moat rating as these opportunities are balanced by adverse secular trends that…
KPN reported third-quarter results that were generally in line with our expectations, and we are maintaining our fair value estimate and moat rating for now. While the firm has chosen to classify E-Plus, the German operation it agreed to sell to Telefonica, as a discontinued operation, we are including the division as we think there…
Despite relatively steady performance from the energy and pulp segments, UPM’s quarterly EBITDA contracted 20% year over year; EBITDA from the paper business was nearly halved over the same period. As the world’s largest producer of graphic paper, UPM remains highly dependent on its paper business, where volume continues to decline–European magazine papers fell 6%,…
Nokia’s second-quarter earnings report had a couple of bright spots but was mostly concerning as the firm’s mobile phone business continues to languish. The favorable view of Nokia’s pending acquisition of the remainder of its Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) joint venture is mostly offset by a rapidly deteriorating basic phone market and only modest Windows…
Mattel MAT continues to adapt to children’s demands, innovating new products tailored to changing tastes. With a number of new franchises coming on line in 2013 (including Ever After High and Max Steel), the company will maintain the wide brand recognition it has captured over numerous decades, keeping its narrow rating intact. While second-quarter results…
