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Amidst extreme turmoil in both the advertising business and its readership, The New York Times managed to eek out a profit. The company reported a net income of $39.1 million, up $18 million year over year. While the news is huge considering the company lost $74.5 million during the first quarter, the financial report reflects “a favorable tax adjustment” the Grey Lady received from the government.
Despite shares being up on news that it acquired Zappos.com, Amazon’s net income for the second quarter was down 10%. However, sales were up 14%, with Amazon earning $4.65 billion for the quarter. If it weren’t for declining currency rates, Amazon claims sales would have increased 20%.
AT&T’s quarterly report shows that profits at the telecommunications company fell 15%. While the company activated 2.4 million new iPhones during the quarter and enjoyed its biggest sales day ever when the iPhone 3GS was released, it was not enough to put AT&T in the black. AT&T added 1.4 million new subscribers during the quarter and cut operating costs on such things as subsidies for iPhones, yet its net income still fell to $3.2 billion, down from $3.77 billion year over year.
Microsoft reported a 29% decrease in profits for the fourth fiscal quarter. Microsoft’s total revenue was down 3% for the fiscal year. Despite other technology companies claiming that they are witnessing stabilization in the market place, Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell said “We’re still in tough economic conditions and we don’t see that getting better in the near term.”
Disney is developing a subscription online video destination. CEO Bob Iger noted that it would provide a “robust” user experience, but would not elaborate on Disney’s plan for the venture. Sources say the video channel will function as an adult version of Disney’s Club Penguin and Pixie Hollow, sites which charge a monthly fee for access.