Toys posts
FeedPosted Oct 19th 2009 3:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)
Hasbro (NYSE:
HAS) isn't doing too well today. Shares of the toy entity are down 3.5% at the time of this writing in early afternoon trading.
Third-quarter results are the catalyst, apparently. Management must hate this, because on Friday, rival
Mattel (NYSE:
MAT) saw a bid after
its own earnings release.
Hasbro's top line contracted 2%, and earnings per share, even with some dilution from a joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) and investments in Hasbro's virtual-studio initiative, increased 11% to 99 cents. Expectations were beat by six pennies. Gee, that was better than Mattel's performance. The maker of Barbie actually saw a per-share earnings decline and came in line with forecasts.
Continue reading Wall Street didn't want to play with Hasbro after Q3 results
Posted Oct 16th 2009 2:40PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)

Toy maker
Mattel (NASDAQ:
MAT), whose competitors include
Hasbro (NYSE:
HAS) and
JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ:
JAKK), issued its Q3 release this morning. The numbers weren't as fun as some of the company's products, but investors are giving the stock a healthy bid as I write this. What would be the reason behind such reaction, especially on a down day for the Dow?
First, here's the data. Sales decreased 8%. They were affected, in part, by currency translation. Earnings per share came in at 63 cents. This was two pennies below last year's income figure. According to Bloomberg, that profit performance misses expectations by a penny, but I've read other sources which report that Mattel met expectations. I think I'll call this one in line with projections.
Continue reading Mattel gets a bid on third-quarter news
Posted Oct 13th 2009 12:30PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Walt Disney (DIS), Recession
In the current economic environment, a lot of companies are cutting back costs wherever they can in hopes of boosting earnings, but entertainment giant Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) is taking a different approach and spending in hopes of boosting its sales.
Disney is hoping that by completely revamping its retail stores that it will be able to lure in more customers, keep them longer, and encourage more sales. In order to make the best of their new marketing direction, they have enlisted the aid of one of the greatest (in my opinion) retail designers out there, Steve Jobs.
Continue reading While others are cutting back, Disney is spending
Posted Jul 29th 2009 12:30PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK) is in rough shape. Sure, the toy industry can be tough. Just ask Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and Mattel (NYSE: MAT). Even with great brands stocking a powerhouse portfolio, getting, and then keeping, the attention of kids is a difficult task. Well, JAKKS Pacific not only has that challenge to contend with, it has others as well.
Let's start with the awful earnings report management released to the market after the bell on Tuesday. For the second quarter, the company lost 3 cents per share on an adjusted basis. This compares to a profit of 17 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenues were flat and unexciting.
Continue reading JAKKS Pacific: A speculative buy after the awful Q2 report?
Posted Jul 17th 2009 5:40PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)
Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT) is all about fun and games, but it doesn't play around when it competes against Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) and JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK). In fact, the stock is up over 7% today as of this writing on the toy manufacturer's earnings news. According to Reuters, Mattel made 6 cents per share during the second quarter, beating estimates by a whopping five pennies.
Pretty good news for Mattel, considering it's been having trouble lately with its Barbie line. Mattel has also had problems with its top-line sales. They dropped 19% in Q2. Fluctuations in the value of the dollar helped to hinder the sales picture, but make no mistake -- Mattel has to step things up a couple notches to keep the top line healthy. Toys are a difficult category to sell during a recession. And when toys do sell, even during the Christmas retail period, they might not command top dollar. Hot toys do, of course, but an entire portfolio cannot necessarily be saved by a single fad item.
Continue reading Mattel up on earnings news, but its Barbie toys need help
Posted Apr 20th 2009 3:20PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Hasbro Inc (HAS)
Hasbro (NYSE: HAS), a toymaker that competes with Mattel (NYSE: MAT) and JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK), reported results for the first quarter on Monday. They weren't that spectacular. No big earnings beat here. Net sales were down 6%, even excluding the effect of currency translation. Net income dropped 44% to $0.14 per share. According to this source, that number unfortunately merely met Wall Street expectations.
Of course, I suppose things could have been worse. Hasbro could have missed expectations by a mile. In this kind of economy, we probably should be glad that a company whose products can easily be cut from any discretionary family budget at least was able to keep up with prevailing wisdom.
Continue reading Hasbro meets expectations in tough Q1
Posted Feb 19th 2009 11:35AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)
JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK), a toy maker which competes with Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and Mattel (NYSE: MAT), did not have a merry Christmas. In that regard, it's no different than the competition. Times are tough, and since toys are not a necessity, it's no wonder that earnings for JAKKS Pacific missed Q4 estimates by a rather significant amount. Net sales dipped by over 5%, and net income dropped 47% to $0.55 per share according to the earnings release. The call was for $1.02 per share. Did I say estimates missed by a rather significant amount? I didn't realize that I was in the mood for understatement.
Continue reading JAKKS Pacific found no Christmas magic in Q4
Posted Feb 2nd 2009 5:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)
Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT), big rival of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) and JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK), had one apocalyptically bad quarter. According to today's Stocks in the News, the toy maker earned $0.49 per share in the fourth quarter. Expectations were for $0.72 per share. Know that horrible Christmas retail season you've been hearing about? It's real.
Mattel, it seems, wasn't able to leverage any of its brand power to save itself from the recession. Well, I suppose that isn't entirely true, since American Girl sales went up 5% in Q4 according to the corporate press release. But Mattel's famous, historical brands, Hot Wheels and Barbie, did no heavy lifting whatsoever, and you would have expected them to help out at least a little. Worldwide gross sales for Fisher Price decreased 10%. For Barbie, the plunge was 21%. And for the Wheels category (which includes Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and remote-control items), sales dropped 19%.
Continue reading Mattel did terribly in the holiday quarter -- is it a buy on the sell-off?
Posted Feb 1st 2009 11:40AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Amazon.com (AMZN), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)
Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT), which competes with toy makers Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) and JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK), will be reporting earnings for the fourth quarter on Monday, February 2. This is going to be an exciting one for the market. Why? Well, it was an awful Christmas for retail. If Mattel, a company that thrives on the season, can beat expectations, then investors can maybe feel a little bit better about the market. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) surprised Wall Street and went beyond expectations during the holiday season, so perhaps there is hope for Mattel.
But I can't say I'd be willing to bet on it. Mattel should earn somewhere around $0.72 per share on the bottom line. That wouldn't be a great number, but it wouldn't be a disaster, either, because in the previous year Mattel delivered $0.76 per share.
Continue reading Earnings preview: Can Mattel possibly beat the analysts after this terrible Christmas?
Posted Dec 16th 2008 8:28AM by Sarah Gilbert (RSS feed)
Filed under: Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)
Today may have been ignominious for toymaker
Mattel (NYSE:
MAT) as its Fisher Price unit paid $12 million in a settlement to make up for its role in allowing toys containing lead to be delivered to retailers and consumers across the U.S. However, Mattel and its big competitors, like
Hasbro (NYSE:
HAS), may be enjoying the fruits of the scandals next year as new laws meant to protect consumers from the toxins in lead paint and the plastic toxin known as phthalates
effectively remove its small competition from the marketplace.

Because in order to comply with the new
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), effective February 10, 2009, all toymakers must pay a testing fee of $4,000 per type of toy they make, as well as permanently labeling them with a batch number and date (requiring them to create new molds in many cases). While this $4,000 fee will be barely felt by huge toymakers such as Mattel and Hasbro, it will annhilate the growing handmade toy industry in the U.S. and, for many importers, end their relationships with U.S. consumers. German wood toy maker Selecta Spielzeug has already
announced its intention to pull its toys from the U.S. market, effective December 31. In a statement, the company said its retail prices would have to increase "by at least 50 percent, which would price these products out of the market." Small toymakers, such as the little company which sells wooden shields at a wholesale price of $7, would be out of business, as would nearly every other small American, Canadian and European toy company, according to the
Handmade Toy Alliance. What's more, it could decimate Etsy, a marketplace for handmade goods.
The potential results of this act are so frightening and amazingly efficient I am left to wonder if it was drafted by the big toy manufacturers themselves. "We'll pay $12 million," I can imagine executives telling each other, "and we'll appear mollified by the government. Chastened and ready to return to the hallowed work of making toys for good little girls and boys."
Continue reading Mama on the Street: Mattel vs. the little guy in toy toxins
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