At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Ms. Debbie Hancock, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Joining me this morning are Brian Goldner, Hasbro's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Deb Thomas, Hasbro's Chief Financial Officer.
There were a lot of moving parts in Hasbro's (NASDAQ: HAS) first-quarter financial report, and at a glance, the results weren't that appealing. My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, Ouija, Battleship, Dungeons & Dragons, and Jem and the Holograms have all taken their turn at the cineplex, with varying degrees of success.
People all over the world continue to stay safe by staying home, but that doesn't mean the adventuring has to stop. Dungeons & Dragons is more popular than ever because it allows people to weave compelling stories together even when they're physically apart through online videoconferencing. Now, Wizards of the Coast brings the stars to this virtual table with D&D; Live 2020: Roll w/ Advantage. An amazing cast of characters led by expert storytellers preview the latest D&D; storyline with live gaming sessions, all while raising money for Red Nose Day to help the most vulnerable children across the US and around the world, who have been so affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The adventure begins 10:00am PT on June 18, 2020 and will run through June 20, 2020 at dungeonsanddragons.com.
Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT), the U.S. toy manufacturer of beloved brands Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and more, saw a 14% decline in sales in the first quarter of 2020 that ended in March. Mattel had been getting back to speed with revamped operations in recent quarters after seeing declining sales, and the company is optimistic about the future despite the downturn. "We remain focused on transforming Mattel into an IP-driven, high-performing toy company and creating long-term shareholder value."
The toymaker said its global manufacturing and distribution facilities, including in China where it produces 60% of its products, were largely back to operating at full capacity, echoing rival Hasbro Inc's
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Never have toys and games been so entertaining for investors.Since March 15, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that events of 50 or more people should be postponed for at least two months, demand for leisure-activity products like jigsaw puzzles, knitting gear and Nintendo has driven the biggest eight-week rally for companies keeping so much of the population preoccupied, if not entirely amused, during the coronavirus pandemic.As dozens of retailers, transportation and energy firms struggle to avoid bankruptcy with businesses collapsing under the weight of social distancing, shares of the five global toy-and-game manufacturers gained 31% since mid-March, beating 68 major industries for the first time since 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Back then, rising toy sales were part of the worldwide economic boom, with the International Monetary Fund projecting the 5.2% growth rate to rise in 2008 amid few signs of the looming financial crisis. Video games such as Halo 3, Wii Play and Call of Duty 4 captured new customers on four continents before the Great Recession, beginning in December 2007, deflated the euphoria and put toys in a bear market that didn’t hit bottom until 2015, according to data compiled by BloombergEven after this year's record rally, toys and games have the cheapest valuation since 2010, based on the forward-looking price-to-earnings ratio, which means that earnings in the months ahead are likely to be greater than every other industry on a relative basis, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While analysts constantly adjust their recommendations — sales forecasts for S&P 500 companies have been reduced 8.4% so far this year — they are more optimistic about toy-and-game makers than at any point during the past five years.Hasbro Inc., the Pawtucket, Rhode Island maker of G.I. Joe, Play-Doh, Nerf balls, Scrabble, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit and trading cards including Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, appreciated 72% over the six weeks starting March 15 as the S&P 500 and the Bloomberg World Index were gaining 21% and 16%, respectively. Not since its initial public offering in 1968 has Hasbro seen such a markup, and analysts say they expect the company's 2020 revenue to grow 20%, the most since 1999. Hasbro suddenly looks like a unicorn in the consumer discretionary group of companies, whose revenues are projected to rise only 3% this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Shares of Japan-based Nintendo have a similar halo, increasing 44% in the same six weeks as the Nikkei 225 index advanced 12%. The last time Nintendo came so far so fast was the summer of 2016 when it launched the reality mobile game, Pokemon Go, and this year analysts predict Nintendo's sales will increase 11%, almost four times the growth for the consumer discretionary group of firms.As it compiles analyst recommendations, Bloomberg assigns a score of one to five to each company, with five representing the strongest consensus for bullish share performance. The score for toy-and-game makers in the U.S. surged to a record 4.3 this year from 4 in 2015, widening the gap between the industry and the rest of the stock market. The S&P 500 fluctuated between 3.7 and 3.9 during the past five years.To be sure, the pandemic has created challenges for some of the strongest-performing companies. Nintendo acknowledged that it is struggling to keep up with demand for its best-sellers, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Nintendo Switch. But this is the kind of problem every company would welcome right now. When Microsoft Corp. reported quarterly earnings on April 29, it said revenues were 4% greater than analyst estimates because its PC games business is getting an extra boost from so many people working from their homes.Governments across the globe already have made toys and games an essential service as efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19 shuttered most economic activity. Weeks before it eased many restrictions, Italy made sure its stores catering to babies would be open.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Matthew A. Winkler is Co-founder of Bloomberg News (1990) and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus; Bloomberg Opinion Columnist since 2015; Co-founder of Bloomberg Business Journalism Diversity Program in 2017. During his 25 years as Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg News was a three-time finalist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting and received numerous George Polk, Gerald Loeb, Overseas Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists and Editors (Sabew) awards.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Hasbro Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend on Common Shares
Movie production delays continue amid the coronavirus pandemic, but toy licensing has not, including Disney's coveted Baby Yoda. Toy Insider’s James Zahn joins Yahoo Finance to discuss why the two are out of sync and what to expect as we begin to recover.
Q1 2020 Hasbro Inc Earnings Call
Hasbro's (NASDAQ: HAS) board of directors has declared the toy company's latest quarterly dividend. Previous to that, Hasbro paid $0.63 per share. In the currently turbulent economic environment caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, Hasbro's business has actually been holding up relatively well.
When investing during a recession, look for stocks that make products that will do well in a recession -- and beyond.
Their dividend yields outperform the S&P; 500 Continue reading...
During the worst of the coronavirus market crash of March 2020, shares of Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) were down more than half from where they had been to start the year. The toy-making leader's stock was high priced given its tepid sales growth following the bankruptcy of Toys R Us in 2018, and the company took on a lot of new debt to acquire toddler favorites Peppa Pig and PJ Masks parent Entertainment One. After my first round of purchasing, CEO Brian Goldner said Hasbro's games were in "high demand" with families sheltering in place, and though Q1 2020 wasn't disruption-free, results could have been worse.
Hasbro's (NASDAQ: HAS) stock has stayed nearly flat over the past five years as the S&P rose nearly 40%. Hasbro's recent first-quarter earnings report didn't bring back the bulls, either. Hasbro also withdrew its full-year guidance in light of the COVID-19 crisis, and warned that the second quarter would "be more challenging," with declining revenue and earnings.
These high-quality companies are selling at a severe discount in the COVID-19 era. You should take advantage of Mr. Market's pricing mistakes.
"We expect to catch up on production over the coming months and be positioned to meet holiday demand," the company's finance chief Deborah Thomas told analysts on a call. Shares in Hasbro, down by more than a quarter so far this year, lost another 3%. Hasbro's manufacturing operations have also taken a hit, but the company said its supply chains have been fully restored in China, where it makes more than half of its products.
This set doubles down on the "double" theme, offering twice the number of several key features compared to other expansion sets for the popular collectible card game.
Firm's largest sales of the 1st quarter Continue reading...
Disney and Warner Bros. are licensing their characters for face masks. Old Navy and Forever 21 are crafting face coverings, too.
It's often more instructive to look at the current dividend yields as compared to the company's dividend history, as well as investigating the outlook for the business, to see if you can find dividend payers that would be considered as attractive investments today. Let's look at two companies that fit that description and why they qualify as cheap dividend stocks worth buying right now. The dividend yields of Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) both spiked when recent market volatility hit their individual share prices.