Filed under: Company News, Earnings, Market News, Industry News, Investing
From the final installment in a fantasy movie series making its theatrical debut to a popular RV maker posting its latest quarterly results, here are some of the things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street.
Monday — Pay It Forward
This is the holiday shopping season, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself swiping plastic on a VeriFone (PAY) machine to complete a transaction. VeriFone’s an industry leader in payment platforms, connecting 26 million devices to its cloud-based platform.
VeriFone kicks off the new trading week by posting quarterly results after Monday’s close. Topeka Capital Markets initiated coverage of VeriFone with a buy rating last month, and after the company beat Wall Street income estimates by a double-digit percentage margin for three consecutive quarters, it’s easy to see why the pros are bullish here.
Tuesday — Play On
Dave & Buster’s (PLAY) went public just two months ago, and on Tuesday it will post its first quarterly report since October’s IPO. It won’t be its first report as a public company, though: Dave & Buster’s was public for several years before being taken private in 2006.
There wasn’t a lot of excitement for its second Wall Street debut. The chain of restaurants with massive high-tech arcades had to price its IPO at $16, the low end of its initial pricing range. However, it has been inching higher in its first few weeks on the market, and on Tuesday it will have to earn those initial gains.
Wednesday — It’s a Hard Hobbit to Break
Director Peter Jackson is back with the third and final installment in adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Hobbit” book with “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” this holiday season. The fantasy series hasn’t fared as well as Jackson’s initial “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The lowest-grossing movie in the original series topped $315 million domestically at the box office, and neither of the first two Hobbit films have kept pace. In fact, it’s a troubling sign that the second Hobbit film generated just $258.4 million in ticket sales after the first film was good for $303 million.
That said, even if the trend of losing viewers continues, we’re still looking at more than $200 million in ticket sales and far more than that internationally. Movies typically open on Friday with some Thursday-night screenings for major movies, but this one’s making its debut on Wednesday.
Thursday — Rolling Along
This would seem to be a good time to be a maker of recreational vehicles. Gas prices are at a multi-year low, making it more affordable to get around in a house on wheels. RV maker Winnebago (WGO) will shed some insight when it reports fresh financials on Thursday.
Analysts are holding out for modest growth. They see revenue climbing 5 percent over the prior year’s quarter, but they see profitability growing even faster.
Friday — Remembering When “CrackBerry” Was a Thing?
BlackBerry (BBRY) was the top dog in smartphones during their early years. The company ruled the landscape when it was mostly corporate types who were on their smartphones going over contacts and pecking out emails. The world changed when the iPhone was introduced, making smartphones cool for everyday consumers. BlackBerry held on for a couple of years, but now we’re living in a world where Android and iOS dominate the market, and that doesn’t leave a lot of room for BlackBerry to succeed.
BlackBerry reports on Friday, and it’s not going to be pretty. The market’s braced for another quarterly deficit on declining revenue. It would be the seventh quarter in a row of red ink. Maybe it should change its name to RedBerry.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. Check out The Motley Fool’s free report for one great stock to buy for 2015 and beyond.
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Source: Investing
