Man, I remember loving THQ (NASDAQ: THQI). For a while, the company and stock were doing well; I recall watching it go from $20 a stub to $36 in recent times. But you know the old adage -- what goes up, must -- or, may, at least, when it comes to stocks -- come down. And down THQ came. Its recent quarter shows just how low things have gotten.
In the video game publisher's latest quarter, net revenue increased 7% to about $510 million. Kind of disappointing for a video game concern to post a top-line increase in the single digits for a holiday quarter that is supposed to be in the thick of the new console cycle. After all, Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360, Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3, and the juggernaut known as the Nintendo Wii are all stoking the flames of gamer interest. But the real disappointment can be found in the horrible bottom-line performance. Yes, even though THQ is the home to SpongeBob SquarePants, not even that wily, sweet, pineapple-dwelling creature could offset increased costs and charges related to canceled games (say good-bye to the Juiced and Stuntman franchises) to save THQ from posting a whopping 76% drop in diluted income from continuing operations: 21 cents per share versus 88 cents a year earlier.
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