June 29, 2004 Getty Images (GYI)
Hello Friends! I didn't have much time to write up Getty Images (GYI) like I usually do, so I left you all a note that I would be back at it! Please remember that I am an amateur investor so that means you need to check into all investments discussed on this blog yourself and PLEASE consult with professional investment advisors before acting on any information on this website. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please also feel free to email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com and I will try to get back to you....usually with a blog entry!

Scanning throught the lists of greatest percentage gainers today, I came across Getty Images which closed this afternoon at $58.90, up $2.63 or 4.67% on the day. I do NOT own any shares nor do I have any options or leveraged positions in this company. According to the Yahoo "Profile", Getty "...is a provider of imagery and related products and services worldwide. Getty offers a range of visual content products that include creative or stock imagery (still and moving images), editorial photography, archival imagery (still and moving) and illustrations."

On April 22, 2004, GYI reported 1st quarter 2004 results. For the quarter ended March 31, 2004, revenue grew 20.1% to $156.5 million, compared with $130.3 million the prior year. Even taking into consideration currency exchange rates, revenue was up 11%. Net income was up almost 100% to $26.1 million or $.43/diluted share vs $13.2 million, or $.23/diluted share the prior year. Also pertinent, the company RAISED guidance for 2004, with revenue anticipated in the $600 to $610 million range and diluted eps of $1.55 to $1.65. This is MY kind of earnings report!

How about longer-term? How has Getty Images been doing? Looking at the "5-Yr Restated" financials on Morningstar.com, we can see that revenue has grown steadily, except for an unexpected "bump" in 2000, from $247.8 million in 1999 to $549.4 million in the trailing twelve months. With 2004 revenues anticipated in the $600 to $610 million range, this trend is expected even by the company to be continuing!

Earning, which were $(1.94)/share in 1999, turned positive at $.39 in 2002 and have grown to $1.31 in the trailing twelve months. This ALSO looks nice.

Free cash flow which was $(27) million in 2001, turned positive in 2002 at $66 million, and has grown strongly since with $144 million reported in the TTM. This is ANOTHER pretty picture for GYI!

How about the balance sheet? According to Morningstar, GYI has $356.6 million in CASH and another $107.9 million in other current assets. This is PLENTY to cover BOTH the $112.2 million in current liabilities AND the $273.8 million in long-term liabilities. This is the kind of balance sheet I LOVE to see!

And is "valuation" in line? Checking "Key Statistics" on Yahoo, we can see that the market cap is at $3.43 billion. The trailing p/e is a bit rich at 45.38 but the forward p/e (fye 31-Dec-05) is a bit better at 30.21...but still no bargain. The PEG, however, isn't bad at 1.54 but the price/sales is also a bit rich at 5.97. So we can see that GYI is NOT selling at some kind of "fire sale" price...but sometimes I guess you get what you pay for!

Yahoo reports that there are 58.28 million shares outstanding with 43.90 million shares that float. Currently there appears to be a LOAD of shares out short as of 6/7/04....3.68 million...representing 12.653 trading days of volume or 8.39% of the float. This is a bit of a bullish level...if you use as I have started using...3 days as a cut-off. So with the recent run-up in price...maybe we are seeing a bit of a "squeeze" of those short-sellers who may need to cover their "pre-sold" borrowed shares! Just maybe....

No dividend is paid and no stock-dividend is reported on Yahoo.

What about "Technicals"? Looking at a "Point & Figure" chart from stockcharts.com:

We can see that the stock has been trading very strongly. After reaching a level of $38 in April, 2002, the stock corrected to $13.50 level in July, 2002, and then has traded very strongly higher to the current level of $58.90. If anything the stock price may be a bit ahead of itself...but there isn't much weakness in this graph in my humble opinion.

Well, what do I think. First of all I sold two stocks in the last couple of days on my 8% loss level....Even so, the other stocks have continued to appreciate so overall my trading portfolio has grown. So I do NOT have any money to buy any stocks. I ALWAYS, well most of the time lol, WAIT to sell a portion of a stock at a gain before adding another position. In other words I am back to 22 positions and trying desparately to follow my own rules...and sit on my hands. OTHERWISE, I might just be nibbling on this stock. The earnings results are great, I especially like the increase in current year's expectations as announced by management, in addition, the past 5 years have shown fairly steady growth, the earnings results are gorgeous, the free cash flow is fabulous, and the balance sheet is perfect. Just one problem, other people have also seen this...and the stock does not sell for a cheap price...but then again, I would say with this high quality issue....and I think you can see why I use the term "quality"...lots of people are willing to pay a premium. This is something the short-sellers are gambling against....selling these shares because they are "over-valued" I guess. A bit risky with such nice results!

Thanks again for stopping by! Please email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com if you have any comments, questions, or words of encouragement! I sure enjoy the opportunity of sharing with you a few of my humble thoughts!

Bob