Nielsen Holdings posted slim revenue increases -- mostly thanks to its Watch segment gains -- but lower overall analyst estimates.
Revenue was up 5.5% to $1.6 billion, with its Watch segment -- its media-measurement services -- gaining 8.5% to $834 million.
Watch's audience measurement of video and text revenues gained 12%, “primarily due to our ongoing investments and continued client adoption of our Total Audience Measurement system,” according to the company.
Nielsen’s Buy unit -- its marketing consumer-data division -- slipped 2% to $776 million. On a constant currency basis, Buy revenues were 2.1% lower versus the same period a year ago. While revenues for emerging markets increased 10.1%, revenues in developed markets were flat for the quarter.
Revenues for Nielsen Marketing Effectiveness business unit increased 24.6%.
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Brian Wieser, senior research analyst at Pivotal Research Group, says: “Nielsen reported 1Q earnings that were slightly soft versus expectations, although full-year guidance for the business was essentially unchanged.”
Nielsen first-quarter income inched up 1.4% to $75 million.
In mid-Thursday trading, Nielsen's stock was down 2.4% to $33.51. For the year so far, the stock is down 8% and, year-over-year, 19% lower.
The name is merely poorly chosen, not Orwellian. Their notion was to study two aspects of what people do, "watch" media or "buy" stuff. That is, it's about studying what people watch, not wacthing people. But, yeah, without that explanation it's spooky.