LES MUM-VES
CBS investor call all self-congrats, no MeToo
As the spotlight burned brightly on CBS chairman and Chief Executive Les Moonves for the first time since sexual misconduct charges were levied against him — the questioners blinked.
Moonves, who addressed investors Thursday on the company’s earnings call, was queried on such topics as streaming revenue and the use of commercial paper in short-term funding. One analyst reportedly said, “Great quarter.”
In just over a week, Moonves’ reputation and job have come under scrutiny, following an investigative report from The New Yorker, in which six women claimed he subjected them to sexual misconduct, in some cases forcibly kissing and touching them.
While Moonves acknowledged his behavior in a statement to The New Yorker, he had not spoken publicly about the allegations — and he wasn’t planning to do so, despite the buzz ahead of the call.
With a special investigation under way over the allegations and pending litigation between CBS and majority shareholder Shari Redstone — who wants to merge CBS and Viacom — Moonves stuck to the financials, as did analysts.
On the call, CBS informed analysts that execs would not answer questions about the sexual misconduct claims or legal proceedings.
While analysts played nice, there was a surreal twist, given all that has transpired this week.
Just a day earlier, the CBS board of directors said former Manhattan US Attorney Mary Jo White, a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, would lead an investi- gation into the allegations. It also hired Nancy Kestenbaum of Covington & Burling to investigate the matter.
Board members Bruce Gordon, Linda Griego and Robert Klieger will help facilitate the investigation. That news came as Moonves stepped down from the Anita Hill-led Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace and was suspended from the USC School of Cine- matic Arts board pending further discussion.
Nonetheless, Moonves soldiered on during the call, telling analysts Thursday that the second quarter “marked the 34th consecutive quarter” of earnings growth for CBS.
“We are taking full advantage of monetizing our content,” he said, citing a rise in subscribers for CBS All Access and its Showtime app.
The rah-rah speech from Moonves included the prediction that CBS will finish the season No. 1 for the 11th year in a row next year. He also said CBS is on track to beat its goal of 8 million subscribers combined, a year early.
During the quarter, net income expanded to $400 million, or $1.05 a diluted share, versus year-ago income of $58 million, or 14 cents a share. Adjusted EPS totaled $1.12, beating esti- mates by a penny. Revenue rose 6.4 percent, to $3.47 billion, besting a projection of $3.46 billion.
Positive results aside, the strange circumstance was not lost on BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield, who took to Twitter to air his grievances.
“Shame on the $CBS analysts who were allowed to ask questions and failed to use the opportunity,” he wrote.