Information providers prepare for growth

Article Excerpt

The recession is driving down advertising revenue for many newspaper publishers and information providers. As well, more people are turning to the Internet as their main source of information. We feel these three information providers will overcome the current downturn. As market leaders, their well-known brands and strong reputations will continue to attract customers and advertisers. As well, all three are aggressively cutting their costs. THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $32 (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 828.6 million; Market cap: $26.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; SI Rating: Above Average) divides its operations into two divisions: Markets accounts for 60% of the company’s revenue and sells financial-information products to banks and other financial institutions. Professional (40% of revenue) sells specialized information to professionals in the legal, accounting, scientific and health-care fields. Thomson Reuters gets about 60% of its revenue from the Americas, followed by Europe (30%) and Asia (10%). Thomson Reuters took its present form when the Ontario-based Thomson Corp. bought…