By: Jennifer Saba July advertising revenue results are not quite as bad as they might seem, at least not compared to prior months. In fact, ad revenue might be stabilizing, according to a note released by John Janedis, a senior analyst at Wachovia Equity Research.
In Wachovia's coverage universe, ad revenue fell about 7.2%. It's not great for sure, but not as bad as June, which was down 7.5% and in May, down 8.1%.
That said, "based on anecdotal comments from industry contacts, the trajectory of ad improvement in Q4 will likely disappoint the market, suggesting further downside to earnings," Janedis wrote.
Retail classified advertising experienced the worst monthly number Wachovia has seen -- down 18.3%. In July 2006 and July 2005, real estate grew 11.3% and 11.2%, respectively.
Wachovia is keeping track of August print ad page counts at The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Wachovia is forecasting mixed trends so far at the Times with some categories like real estate classified and telecommunications experiencing growth, while department stores and movies are down.
At the Wall Street Journal, Janedis notes an improvement with page counts, which are now down in the low single digits.
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