CenturyLink (CTL), formerly CenturyTel Inc, announced third-quarter 2009 results with adjusted (excluding non-recurring items or non-GAAP) earnings per share of 90 cents beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents. Non-recurring items includes integration costs associated with the Embarq acquisition (completed on Jul 1, 2009).  Adjusted net income surged to $269.1 million from $82.8 million registered in the year-ago quarter, driven by the contributions from Embarq. Reported net income (GAAP) of $280.8 million or 94 cents per share, reflects an increase from $84.7 million or 83 cents per share registered a year ago.  Revenue: The company reported operating revenue of $1.87 billion, a significant increase compared to $650 million reported a year ago, fuelled by the Embarq acquisition which contributed $1.3 billion in the quarter. Revenues for voice, network access and data services increased compared to the year-ago quarter.  Subscriber Total access lines at the ...

UTStarcom Inc (UTSI), a provider of IP-based broadband equipment, has become a major contender for the global IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) solutions business. The strategic decision taken by the management to transform the company from a mobile handset developer to an IPTV and fixed broadband access system solutions provider has been favorably implemented.

UTStarcom’s RollingStream IPTV solutions are acting as the main catalyst and at the end of March 2009; the RollingStream system supported more than 1.32 million IPTV subscribers worldwide with a total deployed subscriber capacity of 2.5 million. The company maintains a commanding market position in the Asian regions, especially in China and India.   Nationwide deployment of 3G wireless networks by Chinese telecom carriers has resulted in strong order bookings. Recently, China Telecom (CHA) announced plans to implement a large-scale Mobile TV system in China using UTStarcom’s RollingStream platform.

The company has also expanded into IPTV advertising

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Small telecom equipment manufacturers, like Alvarion Ltd. (ALVR), Arris Group (ARRS), ADC Telecommunications (ADCT), and Anaren Inc. (ANEN), are expected to benefit from the $7.2 billion Broadband stimulus fund granted by the U.S. government under the Rural Utilities Service program.

The American Reinvestment & Recovery Act contains provisions that encourage telecom operators to apply for grants, loans and guarantees to assist them in deploying un-served and under-served communities for broadband access. Telecom-gear makers and infrastructure-solution providers will help the regional/rural telecom operators to plan, design, and implement broadband networks.

Recently, Alvarion received a five-year contract from Open Range Communications Inc, a U.S. wireless operator. The total contract size is more than $100 million. Alvarion will provide radio-access equipment, customer premises devices and systems integration for Open Range's broadband wireless network deployment spanning 17 states, 546 rural communities that may reach out to a population

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Flint Telecom Group, Inc., a fast growing next-generation IP communications products and services company, today reported its progress for the first five months of 2009 as well as provided a list of highlights. After acquiring six U.S. subsidiaries of China Voice Holding Corp. (CHVC) on January 29, 2009, the company completed an aggressive company integration which included extensive corporate personnel and network cost-cutting measures.

Flint Telecom CEO Vincent Browne stated, “We are now well positioned to take our integrated infrastructure to the next level for the benefit of our Shareholders. I feel that we have put together the right team, business plan and foundation to support significant growth as well as to realize increased profits during the coming months. We now have eight active and complementary subsidiaries currently generating more than $75 million in annualized revenues and have made great strides in developing new higher margin products to drive into

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - April 14, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: BCE Inc. (BCE), TELUS Corp. (TU), Avalon Bay Communities, Inc. (AVB), Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Bell Canada Wooing Investors

At the end of 2008, BCE Inc. (BCE), Canada's largest telecom company, announced the termination of the C$51.7 billion (US$43.1 billion) privatization initiative. To partially offset this setback and reinvigorate investor confidence, BCE has resumed paying quarterly dividends

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At the end of 2008, BCE Inc. (BCE), Canada's largest telecom company, announced the termination of the C$51.7 billion (US$43.1 billion) privatization initiative. To partially offset this setback and reinvigorate investor confidence, BCE has resumed paying quarterly dividends (with 5% increase in annual payout) and also announced a new share repurchase plan.While operating results in the fourth quarter 2008 were limited by weakness in wireline business, respectable gains were registered in wireless and high-speed Internet business segments. Moving forward, the company faces a greater degree of risk as it is exposed to an intensely competitive environment due to the entry of additional wireless carriers.The company competes directly with TELUS Corp. (TU) and other telephone and cable operators in Canada. We also anticipate that the weak economic backdrop will negatively affect business performance through 2009. We reiterate our Hold recommendation for BCE with a ...

Liberty Media [LMDIA: 17.34, +0.15 (+0.87%)] has been in the news a lot lately, due to CEO John Malone’s recent bailout of Sirius XM Radio [SIRI: 0.2473, +0.0123 (+5.23%)]. This article is not about that deal, however. This article is an attempt to explain the structure of Liberty Media, which is sure to confuse most amateur investors, as well as some professional ones. This is because Liberty uses “tracking stocks,” which have not been popular since the dot-com days of the 90’s.

According to investopedia.com, a tracking stock is a “common stock issued by a parent company that tracks the performance of a particular division without having claims on the assets of the division or the parent company.”

When a parent company issues a tracking stock, all revenue and expenses of the applicable division are separated from the parent company’s financial statements

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