Briefing-14:19 ET Yahoo! Earnings Preview (YHOO) 48.33 -0.44: Yahoo! (YHOO) is scheduled to report Q1 (Mar) results today after the close, with Reuters consensus EPS at $0.11, EBITDA at $167.5 mln, and revs at $501.1 mln (guidance is for revs of $475-$505 mln). Schwab Soundview, which downgraded the stock yesterday to Neutral, believes that Q1 results are likely to be very strong (their ests are $0.11 and $509 mln), but believes that the stock is now very expensive. While their $176 mln EBITDA est remained high on the street throughout much of the qtr, they note that a number of other analysts have recently leapfrogged their est, and consequently they believe that guidance would have to be extraordinarily aggressive -- with the midpoint of the EBITDA range increasing from $755 mln to $850 mln or higher -- to boost the shares from current levels. Firm does not believe that YHOO mgmt has anything to gain from such aggressive guidance, and therefore believes that the stock is unlikely to run on the quarterly report. Pacific Growth also expects strong Q1 results, and thinks the Street would not be surprised if the co reported $0.11-$0.12 in EPS and $510-$520 mln in sales. However, firm believes that valuation already reflects flawless execution, and if the past is any guide, thinks the co will attempt to temper enthusiasm and instead remain cautiously optimistic about its prospects over the next 3 qtrs. Price reaction: For the past 3 qtrs, on Jan 14th co reported in line, guided in line (stock down 1.0% the following day); Oct 8th co beat by a penny, raised guidance (stock +10.2%); Jul 9th co reported in line, raised guidance (stock -8.4%).
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