Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (NYSE: CCO) is the world's largest outdoor advertising company, providing advertisers with space on billboards, street furniture displays, and transit displays in 50 countries across six continents. Roughly half of its revenues are from its operations abroad, while the other half are the U.S., where a consolidated market and favorable regulations keep operating margins high. The outdoor advertising industry is poised to become significantly more efficient and competitive more directly with other advertising channels--including Internet advertising--as outdoor companies convert their traditional displays into digital displays. The promise of this technology will allow higher quality, faster time to market, and better customer targeting along with much lower operating costs. The company earned $2.7 billion in revenue but incurred a net loss of $868 million in net income in 2009.^[1]

Clear Channel Outdoor split from parent company Clear Channel Communications on November 11, 2005, but Clear Channel Communications continues to maintain a 90% controlling share of CCO (and 99% of voting power). The company is highly sensitive to fluctuations in the U.S. economy, as small downturns in the economy lead to large overall declines in ad spending and vice versa. In addition, downturns and upswings in the domestic economy will have dramatic effects for the company's bottom line.

(Read more at Wikinvest )