The Chinese internet search giant announced that its board approved a $200 million buyback plan. The Beijing-based company added that it will repurchase up to $200 million worth of its own American Depository Shares by the end of 2009, from time to time based on market conditions. On October 22, 2008, China’s leading search engine posted stellar third-quarter results as profit surged 91%. Net income for the quarter was $50.9 million, or $1.46 a share, while total revenue surged 85% to $134 million. Baidu said growth in the number of marketing customers and revenue per customer fueled the robust quarter. The Beijing Olympics in August also had a slight impact on revenue growth. Robin Li, Baidu's chairman and CEO commented, "As China's leader in paid search, Baidu has a large and diverse customer base covering numerous industries and sectors. Such diversity gives us great stability and positions us to capture future growth.” After Baidu reported what Susquehanna Financial Group called a “flawless” quarter, Susquehanna issued a optimistic note and raised their price targets on BIDU. Analyst C. Ming Zhao stated, “We believe investors should react to the earnings results in a constructive manner, as the stock is trading at 25% lower than its price post 2Q results, and company has met growth targets in 3Q and 4Q. We maintain our Positive rating and slightly adjust our price target to $320 from $305.” Baidu holds a firm grip on China’s Internet search market with 60% of the total market share, well in front of Google at second place. Just this year China tied United States for the world’s largest population of internet users with 221 million and the number is expected to growth by double-digits annually while other major markets are expected to experience a slowdown in growth.

The pharmacy benefit manager based out of Franklin Lakes, N.J. reported that its board approved a new buyback program worth $3 billion in common stock. This new plan expires in November of 2010 and the company expects to use free cash flow to fund the repurchases. In October of 2008, the company completed its $5.5 billion-dollar buyback plan, which it began in 2005. During the program, the company bought back 153.8 million shares at an average cost of $35.75. On November 5, 2008, the company reported third-quarter results that beat Wall St.’s expectations and forecasted strong growth in 2009, sending shares 10% higher. The company earned a record 58 cents a share, up 48.7% from 39 cents a share earned in the same period last year. Specialty pharmacy revenues jumped to a record of $2 billion, a gain of 34.3%. Generic dispensing rate also increased to a record of 64.4%, 4.1% higher than in the third-quarter of 2007. Medco attributed the record quarter to strong demand for low-cost generic drugs, branded drugs and the company won new clients. "Our strong third quarter results and 2009 guidance reflect our compelling business model, which is designed to improve clinical and financial outcomes for clients and their members, and deliver value that is even more critical in a turbulent economy," said David B. Snow Jr., Medco chairman and CEO. The company expects full-year 2009 EPS in the range of $2.45 to $2.55 a share, representing 15% to 21% growth over 2008 guidance.

The Englewood, Colo.-based international cable operator announced that it will increase its buyback program by an additional $250 million. On November 5, 2008, Liberty reported third-quarter results with a 17% increase in sales as it added subscribers to its phone, internet, and digital video services. Another highlight for the quarter was operating cash flow, which jumped 27% to $1.17 billion fueled by foreign exchange and organic growth. Net income, on the other hand, dropped to a loss of $1.01 a share, on revenue of $2.65 billion. President and CEO Mike Fries said, “One of our key strengths is our geographic diversity, as our core cable operations span 15 different countries. Many of these operations are managing through these economic times well. Given the state of the credit markets, we also feel very good about our balance sheet, particularly in terms of our liquidity position, debt maturity profile, and exposures to interest rates and currencies.” Analysts from Janco Partners have a buy rating on Liberty. Gregory Kolb commented, “Overall, the Company reported stable results in an increasingly negative worldwide economic environment. While we are cognizant of the continued pressures from competition as well as possible future ARPU pressure from customers choosing lower priced products, we believe the company is well positioned to weather the malaise.”

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