Stupidity is contagious. It gets us all from time to time. Even respectable companies can catch it. As we do every week, let's take a look at five dumb financial events this week that may make your head spin.
1. Maybe you're not so ubiquitous
Shares of Ubiquiti Networks
There was nothing seemingly wrong about the quarter that just ended. Revenue soared 40% to $94.9 million, and the tech company's adjusted profit of $0.30 a share was just ahead of where analysts were perched.
The problem comes in Ubiquiti's outlook.
"The Ubiquiti brand is dominant in our markets and demand for our technology is stronger than ever," CEO Robert Pera notes in last night's release.
Really?
Ubiquiti expects to earn just $0.14 a share to $0.17 a share on no more than $70 million in revenue for the current quarter. It's a sharp sequential drop.
Pera points the finger at terminated distributors that are now selling counterfeit versions of the company's marquee AirMax product. Ubiquiti is going after the renegade copycats, but it sees the situation impacting results for the next two quarters.
2. Monsters are real
Energy drinks continue to be popular, but perhaps they're just not popular enough.
Monster Beverage
When you're a growth stock, there's little margin for error. The company's Monster energy drink may be second only to Red Bull in popularity, but the market expects nothing but the best when you're trading at more than 30 times this year's projected earnings.
3. Amazon gets into the game
In a somewhat surprising move, Amazon.com
The leading online retailer introduced Living Classics, a moving objects game where players scour busy pictures within classic storybook settings to find things that are animated.
It may seem like a good idea -- and the tie-in to Amazon's literary roots is a nice touch -- but what's Amazon doing in a crowded niche? Perhaps more importantly, Amazon seems to have a thriving business selling digital games. How will developers feel now that there's a conflict of interest?
After several days of media publicity and hype, the game only had 30,000 players as of last night. That's a far cry from the tens of millions of players that the genre's top games are attracting.
4. Water, water everywhere
Primo Water's
The writing was probably on the wall for Flavorstation. Its release was delayed last year as the company had to reformulate the soda flavors. It failed to gain meaningful retail distribution this year.
Primo Water will go back to focusing on its steadier water and dispenser businesses as it seeks out strategic alternatives for Flavorstation.
It hopes to either strike licensing partnerships or find buyers for the assets, but neither scenario is likely. There's a reason why it took a hit during the quarter to write down its acquisition. Sometimes fizzy dreams go flat.
5. No thank queue
Shares of Best Buy
He would be looking to pay between $24 and $26 a share for the struggling retailer, but investors know better than that. There's a reason the stock peaked at the open, proceeding to close lower every subsequent day this week.
Schulze can't buy the company on his own, and private-equity funds will likely balk once they begin their due diligence. There's also the matter of board approval. Shareholders may be taking pitchforks to the next annual meeting, but the company's pride will probably get in the way of accepting a reasonable buyout bid.
Just as a footnote to history, Circuit City rebuffed a couple of buyout bids on the way to zero.
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