Last week was one of relaxation and quiet reflection for shareholders of Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation 7-Eleven (NYSE:SE). What's that, you say? The company reported earnings on Tuesday? Stock Advisor subscribers couldn't have cared less. They've already got their money pretty much banked on this one.
Sure, in some metaphysical sense, I suspect they might have felt a sense of satisfaction at hearing that their company grew revenues by 17% over Q3 2004, that it translated those revenues into a 54% increase in firm-wide profits and $0.53 in profits per diluted share (a 47% increase). And they probably would have also been pleased to see that this represented a sequential acceleration of sales and per-share profits growth over the two previous quarters, with sales growing 12% and per-share profits up 50%. That is to say, they would have had they been paying attention.
But the fact of the matter is that 7-Eleven shareholders had, and have, little incentive to worry over the details of their company's performance anymore. Because a week ago the company's Japanese parent, 7-Eleven Japan, agreed to up its previous buyout price by 15% and acquire 7-Eleven for $37.50 per share. As a result of this concession, 7-Eleven's special committee, assigned to review the parent company's offer, has agreed to lend its stamp of approval and is recommending that shareholders tender their shares for the new and improved offer price.
Good news for Stock Advisor members who heeded the advice of Fools David Gardner and Rex Moore last month and who held onto their shares in anticipation of a better offer -- it has finally arrived. But even for those who decided that concession was the better part of valor and tendered their shares at the earlier, $32.50 offer price, the news is still good. 7-Eleven's parent has agreed to pay all shareholders equally, so the early birds and the holdouts alike will receive the $37.50 deal.
With that promise in hand, who needs to fret over earnings reports?
Returning a 25% profit in only five months, 7-Eleven has been one of Stock Advisor's quickest-rewarding stocks. But it's far from our only winner. Subscribers since the newsletter's inception have seen their stocks rise 52% against a measly 15% gain for the S&P 500. To see our other recommendations and find out why we like them, just click here and start your free trial subscription today.
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Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of 7-Eleven.
