If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.
1. Thinking outside of the box
Small-box video game retailer GameStop (NYSE: GME ) is starting to hedge its bets. The chain is buying Kongregate, an online distributor of social games.
One can argue that GameStop is morbidly placing a small bet on the digital delivery platform that threatens to make physical distribution obsolete, but it's fairer to call this savvy insurance.
I'm not the only one who has turned bearish on GameStop in recent years. Industry sales have been sluggish for more than a year. Rivals are finally set on squeezing GameStop's trade-in cash cow, where its thickest margins hang out.
GameStop has always been in a precarious position. Digital delivery of software may actually help publishers and the console makers, as they are able to cash in on games without the overhead of pressing, packaging, physical shipping, and inventory logistics. However, that inevitable future leaves GameStop out in the cold. As hard drives get chunkier and connection speeds get faster, GameStop stores may be left with little more than low-margin hardware to move.
Buying Kongregate doesn't necessarily rescue GameStop. It's a small distributor of casual third-party diversions. However, it's a good baby step in the right direction.
2. Made in the E*TRADE shade
E*TRADE (Nasdaq: ETFC ) turned heads last week when it posted its first quarterly profit in three years.
The heads keep on turning.
Credit ratings giant Moody's raised its outlook on the discount broker -- from negative to stable -- this week. E*TRADE's improving financials and lower exposure to problematic loans triggered the upgrade.
3. Droids bash bushels
If you figured that Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL ) apologetic Antennagate admission and offer to arm iPhone 4 owners with free bumper cases was enough to silence the brand-tarnishing ordeal, you've underestimated the attack skills of its hungry competition.
Motorola's (NYSE: MOT ) been taking out full-page ads to promote its Droid X this week, with a "No Jacket Required" zinger. The ads claim that Motorola's dual antenna design "allows you to hold the phone any way you like to make crystal clear calls without a bulky phone jacket."
Motorola then goes on to claim that this is the attention to obvious details that comes with making wireless handsets for three decades, a jab at Apple's inexperience in this field despite its indisputable success.
Apple may have brought this on by dodging some of the responsibility by saying that antenna reception woes are common among its peers, but you can't blame Motorola for striking while media attention is still hot.
The cherry on top? Motorola went on to post healthier-than-expected profit growth and projected a return to revenue growth during the current quarter.
4. Gunning for multiple expansion in China
Sohu.com (Nasdaq: SOHU ) posted better-than-expected quarterly results on Monday, but the real gem in the Chinese new-media company's report is that its online advertising business is finally growing faster than its Web-based gaming division.
Sohu's brand advertising revenue climbed 22% during the period, compared to a mere 17% advance at its majority-owned Changyou.com (Nasdaq: CYOU ) stake. This normally wouldn't matter, but investors have been shy about bidding up China's leading players in Web-based multiplayer fantasy games. Whether they fear that the government will crack down harder on content or the time-sucking nature of the addictive games on its youth, investors are willing to pay healthier premiums for companies that rely on Web-based advertising over those cranking out popular Internet games.
Sohu currently trades at 14 times this year's projected profitability and 11 times next year's projected earnings. That's in line with what its online gaming peers are fetching, but far lower than what the online advertising leaders are commanding.
Online gaming contributes 53% of Sohu's total revenue, whereas brand advertising is just a 36% slice of the top-line pie. In other words, Internet ads still have a way to go to justify the meatier multiple. It's just comforting to see it moving in the direction of justifying multiple expansion.
5. The feature presentation
Shares of IMAX (Nasdaq: IMAX ) popped higher yesterday, after the premium theatrical experience provider posted better-than-expected quarterly results. Revenue climbed 38%, as reported profits quadrupled on a per-share basis.
It's been a good week for IMAX, as it kicked off the week announcing an international expansion deal with a Russian exhibitor and solid box office receipts. Aftershock -- the first mainstream Chinese film to be digitally remastered for IMAX -- is a hit in its cinematic debut in the world's most populous nation and Inception came through with yet another market-thumping weekend through its IMAX screenings.
With installations, new screen signings, and IMAX theatrical release announcements ahead of last year's pace, the multiplex sweetener continues to flex its scalable business model.
With numbers like these, shareholders may find that even the popcorn tastes better.
Let me know in the comments box below what you think of this week's smart moves.
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