Analysts are spending a fair amount of Earthlink’s earnings call this morning trying to figure out what the access company’s strategy might be with AOL (NYSE: TWX). Chairman and CEO Rolla Huff is leaving the door open for acquisitions overall—as long as it makes sense for shareholders—but he’s careful not to commit either way. Huff: “I’m not prepared to say that we will or won’t consider anything. I’m prepared to say we won’t do anything (unless there’s a return for shareholders).”

This is tricky for Huff because AOL’s announcement that it will split access from audience, and the comments about access during the TWX earnings call, reflect on Earthlink (NSDQ: ELNK). He told analysts, “I feel very confident that this is the type of business we would do very well with.”

Asked about financing acquisitions—there was rueful laughter when the analyst described debt market as not “hospitable”—Huff went in the factors that would come into play as transactions are being evaluated but stressed Earthlink’s flexibility in paying for a deal: “There is no transaction we would look at and say we don’t have the ability to do that.” More to come.