Clear Channel Outdoor's Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Mr. Market turned a blind eye to billboard-advertising veteran Clear Channel Outdoor (NYS: CCO) on Tuesday. Share prices fell as much as 16.3% on heavy volume.

So what: Despite an impressive 8% year-over-year revenue leap, Clear Channel's $0.01 of earnings per share fell far short of the $0.06 analyst view. The domestic market is flat while international sales are booming, but higher site lease costs drove up expenses and eviscerated the bottom line.

Now what: Clear Channel is rolling out lots of digital billboards around the globe, because that's where the future is. When you're competing with Google (NAS: GOOG) and ValueClick (NAS: VCLK) just as much as with traditional rivals Lamar Advertising (NAS: LAMR) or Interpublic (NYS: IPG) , it just won't do to leave a good technology play untouched. New CEO Bob Pittman surely has a ton of work to do (and please stop calling him Shirley!), but perhaps there's some life in this old clunker of an ad shop yet.

Interested in more info about Clear Channel Outdoor? Add it to My Watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorAnders Bylundowns shares of Google, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. The Motley Fool owns, andMotley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying, shares of Google. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinion, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Check outAnders' holdings and bio, or follow him onTwitterandGoogle+. We have adisclosure policy.

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