With all three of the big-name gaming consoles now officially on the market, this is the time for gaming uber-retailer GameStop
After the earnings news comes out, we'll have time a-plenty to dissect it. But in these few hours before we begin obsessing over GameStop's short-term progress, let's take a moment to review what investors think about it as a long-term investment. Our tool in this endeavor: Motley Fool CAPS, where we poll more than 29,000 rated investors for their views on well over 4,000 companies, GameStop among them. Here's what Fools have to say about the company.
Up or down?
More than 800 investors have submitted opinions on GameStop. The verdict: Game on!
96% of CAPS investors polled love the stock, an endorsement that stumbles just a bit as we drill down to the very best investors, the CAPS All-Stars, 94% of whom give GameStop the thumbs-up. That's good enough to net GameStop four out of five possible stars.
Most gaming-related companies are doing similarly well as the videogame cycle enters its upturn:
|
Videogames Group |
|
|---|---|
|
GameStop |
**** |
|
Activision |
**** |
|
Konami |
**** |
|
Logitech |
**** |
|
Electronic Arts |
*** |
|
Microsoft |
** |
|
Take-Two |
* |
Wall Street vs. Main Street
None of the seven analysts we track on CAPS thinks GameStop will underperform the market. Their approval is unanimous -- as is that of the market at large, which has GameStop outperforming the S&P 500 by a whopping 50 percentage points over the last 52 weeks.
Bull pitch
Bullish pitches for GameStop on CAPS read like a non-stop stream of release announcements. "The Wii is coming out." "The Playstation3 just hit the shelves." "The Xbox rox!" Seems pretty clear that GameStop lovers have agreed on the catalyst that (they hope) will lift this stock to glory. But why does this make GameStop, in particular, the gaming retailer to buy? One All-Star explains: "Has a huge protective moat in its game reselling business. Will excel for years to come as new gaming systems saturate the market. Consistent Outpeformer." Or more simply: GameStop is best in class.
Bear pitch
The top-rated GameStop bear-baiter, however, argues that the stock is just too darn expensive, a sentiment expanded upon by another bearish All-Star, who snarls derisively: "Yeah man, a specialty retailer with a P/E of 36, that provides every frivolous item you could possibly find at WalMart, only more expensive!" Marrying on-the-ground research to numerical analysis, this bear warns that GameStop stores at "two malls near me were among the emptiest out of everything when I did my Christmas shopping. Even the crafts store, Fabricland was more packed than them."
Who said that?
To learn the identities of the wise Fools who penned these thoughts and explore the plethora of additional financial data we've put together on the company, just click here.
GameStop, Activision, and Electronic Arts are Stock Advisor newsletter recommendations. Microsoft is an Inside Value selection.
Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of any company named above. You can find him on CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handle TMFDitty, where he's currently ranked No. 1,100 out of more than 29,000 raters.
