Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What is your recommendation on EarthLink Holdings? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

EarthLink Holdings Corp., $8.16, symbol ELNK (Shares outstanding: 103.1 million; Market cap: $815.0 million; www.earthlink.net), is a provider of network, communications and Internet services to homes and businesses in the U.S. The company started up in 1994, during the dial-up Internet era, along with firms like AOL. It first sold shares at $13 and began trading on Nasdaq in 1997. EarthLink grew steadily, with innovative offerings including unlimited dial-up Internet access for $19.95 a month and competitively priced broadband Internet service over networks owned by Time Warner and AT&T. The company’s annual revenue peaked at $1.3 billion in 2006 but then started dropping because of rising competition in the market for basic Internet service. After its revenue declined to $622.2 million in 2010, EarthLink accelerated the expansion of its business services, and made seven acquisitions in 2011. As a result, its 2011 revenue rebounded to $1.3 billion, while cash flow per share jumped to $1.83 from $0.97 in 2010. EarthLink still has over…