Harry Potter may be the savior of the wizarding world dreamed up by J. K Rowling, but he also serves as a helpful boost to stocks here in the Muggle world.
Want to cash in on the success of the Harry Potter franchise, or perhaps use the series' blockbusters successes to make back the money you spent on all the books, move tickets, DVDs, Jelly Belly's Bernie Bots Every Flavored Beans, a ticket to Universal Orlando's Harry Potter theme park, action figures, Harry Potter Scene It, a Harry Potter watch with wands for hands...
While the "Harry Potter Index" is "more of a tongue-in-cheek version of a stock index," the industries connected with Harry Potter have been generating billions in sales. The final installment of the films is only a week away and the Harry Potter Index will likely reap in the benefits, if only for a little while. After all, "portfolios and financial terms that are tied to celebrities tend to have a short shelf life, depending on how long the buzz lasts."
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 "earned global box office revenues of close to $950 million, with 31% coming from the U.S. box office and the remaining 69% coming from the international box office." That alone accounted for much of Time Warner's annual box office revenues, according to The Street.
Part 2 is to be released in 3-D, and with ticket prices at a premium, Time Warner expects to reap in even more benefits. "[We] estimate that box office operations single-handedly generate 12% of Time Warner's stock value," says The Street
Yet Warner Brothers Time Warner is not the only beneficiary of J. K. Rowling. Investors and Potterheads, take note. Below we list 10 of several stocks on the Harry Potter Index and how they expect to make some extra Galleons off of the "Boy Who Lived." (Click here to access free, interactive tools to analyze these ideas.)
List sorted in alphabetical order.
1. Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN ) : Catalog & Mail Order Houses Industry. Market cap of $96.08B. Harry Potter is Amazon's most pre-ordered product. The Harry Potter books have consistently held the No. 1 spot on Amazon's best-seller list. In the days prior release of the seventh book, (Deathly Hallows), Amazon reported an increase in revenue of 35% based on site traffic for the book. The site recorded 2.2 preorders for the book. The stock has had a good month, gaining 12.06%.
2. Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS ) : Multimedia & Graphics Software Industry. Market cap of $8.08B. This company has the rights to Harry Potter computer and video games. Harry Potter video games have been made for Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, and Playstation 2 and 3. The stock has gained 22.81% over the last year.
3. Fossil (Nasdaq: FOSL ) : Recreational Goods, Other Industry. Market cap of $7.91B. Produces Harry Potter watches. It's Potter Time. Exhibiting strong upside momentum -- currently trading 9.24% above its SMA20, 17.68% above its SMA50, and 53.78% above its SMA200. The stock has had a good month, gaining 18.19%.
4. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE ) : Conglomerates Industry. Market cap of $197.58B. Universal Orlando's houses "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" theme park. Universal Studios is a subsidiary of NBC Universal, which is 80% owned by General Electric. "Just half a year of Harry Potter was enough to lift Universal Orlando's full-year attendance by 20 percent ... Annual revenue leapt 41 percent to $1.1 billion, as tourists paid higher prices for tickets and then plunked down cash for magic wands, chocolate frogs and other Potter-themed souvenirs and food. Operating profit soared 79 percent to $267 million." The stock has lost 6.99% over the last year.
5. Hasbro (NYSE: HAS ) : Toys & Games Industry. Market cap of $5.87B. Hasbro has been awarded the rights to Harry potter trading card games, role-playing games, trading cards, candy and youth electronics. This includes Clue -- The Harry Potter addition. The stock has lost 7.41% over the last year.
6. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ ) : Drug Manufacturers Industry. Market cap of $184.40B. J&J creates Harry Potter bath and dental products for children. The stock has gained 14.11% over the last year.
7. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) : Beverages Industry. Market cap of $155.90B. Coca-Cola reportedly paid Warner Brothers $150 million for exclusive rights to tie-in their products to the first two film in the series. Rowling made Coca-Cola give $18 million to U.S. charity Reading Is Fundamental as part of a sponsorship deal. The stock has gained 1.96% over the last year.
8. Mattel (NYSE: MAT ) : Toys & Games Industry. Market cap of $9.43B. Owns the rights to the Harry Potter games and master toy licensee. Although it shares game rights with Hasbro, Mattel has the largest contract. This includes the Harry Potter Scene It, plush toys and action figures. The stock has gained 7.87% over the last year.
9. Scholastic (Nasdaq: SCHL ) : Publishing Industry. Market cap of $840.99M. Scholastic has the exclusive United States publishing rights to the Harry Potter book series. Sales of the series are higher with the release of movies. Although J. K. Rowling owns the rights to the series and is now offering the sale of Harry Potter e-books on her website "Pottermore," Scholastic will keep its revenue share of the series. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 19.07% (equivalent to 28.68 days of average volume). The stock has gained 1.46% over the last year.
10. Time Warner (NYSE: TWX ) : Entertainment Industry. Market cap of $38.47B. Warner Brothers produces the motion pictures and is a subsidiary of Time Warner. The 7th Potter movie "released in November, has made $943.3 million in worldwide ticket sales and was the No. 1 movie in the U.S. in the fourth quarter. "The stock has gained 1.96% over the last year.
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the stocks mentioned above. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.
Kapitall's Becca Lipman does not own any of the shares mentioned above.
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