SNE

Thanksgiving Weekend Sales Were Weak…

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According to preliminary survey results released Sunday by the National Retail Federation, retail sales during the Thanksgiving weekend tumbled 11% to $50.9 billion from $57.4 billion during the same weekend last year. Executives are having a difficult time explaining the sharp drop off in retail sales (RTH), given similar aggressive strategies and promotions as previous years, but we think there are a few reasons for the hefty decline. For one, the lure of the post-Thanksgiving “mad-rush” may be wearing off, and the emerging “negative” social stigma of those willing to shop (instead of resting with family) coupled with those who believe they are “being forced to work” during the holiday (see Walmart strike) without fair wages may be turning off … Read more

Apple Conference Better Than Expected

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It is sometimes with hesitation that we talk about Apple (AAPL) because it is one of the most widely covered stocks. We often try to highlight hidden gems across our coverage universe, but when things are going well…well…things are going well. The iPhone maker has been one of the best performers in the Best Ideas portfolio and Dividend Growth portfolio, and the new products at the September 9 event speak to continued sustainability of strong fundamentals. View event replay here >> The biggest surprise at the event, in our view, was the release of both Apple’s first wearable device (called Apple Watch) and its first payments solution (called Pay). “The Apple Watch is available in two different sizes and comes … Read more

Tiffany Dazzles in Second Quarter; Coach Now Yielding ~4%

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Be sure to catch Valuentum’s Brian Nelson discussing Tiffany’s reports on CNBC Asia at 9:30 PM CST today. The video clip will be posted to the website as soon as it is made available. Luxury jewelry maker Tiffany (TIF) reported fantastic second-quarter results Wednesday and raised its bottom-line guidance for the second time this year and in as many quarters. Tiffany has been benefiting from a modernization of its classical jewelry line-up thanks to the ongoing success of its newest ATLAS collection (shown right) and TIFFANY T jewelry collection (shown below). The ATLAS collection is named for the mythic Greek god and showcases Roman numerals in designs symbolic of strength and freedom on pieces ranging from pendants and earrings to … Read more

Microsoft to Slash 18,000 Jobs

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Quick and agile – that’s what new Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella is looking to embed in the firm’s culture with a sweeping announcement that it will realign its workforce. In a memo to employees, the company revealed the largest layoffs in its corporate history, targeting the reduction of the size of its overall workforce by up to 18,000 jobs. The work toward synergies and strategic alignment on its recently-acquired Nokia (NOK) Devices and Services operations is expected to account for 12,500 job cuts, comprising both professional and factory workers. The vast majority of employees will get the pink slip over the next 6 months. Though it is never pleasing to hear that workers are losing their jobs, from an investment standpoint, … Read more

Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

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Read: Keeping the Horse Before the Cart: Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ Rating The Economic Castle Focuses on the Magnitude of Economic Value Creation The Valuentum Economic Castle™ rating is an enhancement of the competitive advantage framework (commonly known as economic moat analysis) that has become widespread and ubiquitous within the investing world. Whereas an economic moat framework evaluates a firm on the basis of the sustainability and durability of its competitive advantages, Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ rating evaluates a firm on the basis of the firm’s future economic profit spread (return on invested capital less its weighted average cost of capital). The companies with the strongest Valuentum Economic Castle™ ratings are poised to generate the most economic value for shareholders in the … Read more

Sony Sets Sights on Future; GameStop Shareholders Startled

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Sony (SNE) announced Tuesday that it sold 4.2 million copies of the PS4 during 2013, exceeding estimates for ~3 million sales of Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox One units during the year. The PS4’s lower price tag of $399 versus the Xbox One’s $499 sale price coupled with wider distribution (53 countries versus 13) helped drive the better numbers at Sony. Sales levels of each competing console, however, were fantastic, which bodes well for game developers such as Electronic Arts (EA) and Take Two (TTWO). Sony remains firmly on track to surpass its PS4 sales target of 5 million units by March 2014 and will likely turn a nice profit of about $25-$50 per unit (despite the lower price). Microsoft’s XBox sales may be … Read more

Great Early Holiday Sales Read for Best Ideas Portfolio Holdings

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On Saturday, IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, a source for real-time cloud-based online retail data and analysis, revealed strong online retail trends for this Thanksgiving and Black Friday: US Holiday shoppers once again shopped online early for the best deals with Thanksgiving Day online sales increasing by 19.7 percent over 2012. This momentum set the stage for a record Black Friday, with online sales growing 18.9 percent over the same period last year. The biggest surge came from mobile sales increasing to 25.8 percent of total online sales for Thanksgiving and 21.8 percent for Black Friday as consumers went from the dinner table to their tablets to lock in the best offers. In addition, IBM reported that New York City consumers … Read more

GameStop Tumbles on Lower Than Expected Holiday Outlook

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One of the ‘Top 25 Overvalued Stocks on the Market’ reported third-quarter results Thursday. GameStop (GME) represents the latest firm that we highlighted as significantly overvalued to engage in a large pricing correction toward our fair value estimate. Third-quarter results at the world’s largest video game retailer weren’t the problem. Total global sales advanced 18.8%, while comparable store sales rose 20.5%. Sales of new software increased 43.1% thanks to strong performance from Grand Theft Auto V. Hardware sales also performed well, jumping 15.3% thanks to a strong sell-thru of Nintendo 2DS and 3DS. Pre-owned sales, however, declined 2%. The strong overall performance led to 675 basis points of market share gains. GameStop’s net earnings jumped 45.3%, to $68.6 million, while the … Read more

Grand Theft Auto V Will Drive Fantastic Results at Take-Two

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It is no secret that the video game industry is surprisingly cyclical for many players. Look no further than GameStop (click ticker for report: ), which has seen shares soar after a multi-year lull in games now appears to be over with the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox One (click ticker for report: ) and Sony’s PlayStation 4 (click ticker for report: ). The game-developing business is probably even more cyclical, but it has little to do with broader economic conditions. Rather, development is somewhat similar to biotechnology in the sense that developers may spend years developing a game before finally launching and recouping costs with extraordinarily high marginal profits. That story is playing out at Take-Two Interactive Image Source: TTWO … Read more