There were plenty of winners and losers this week, with a critically acclaimed burger chain smoking in its initial public offering and the leading video game retailer seeing store-level sales shrink. Here’s a rundown of the week’s smartest moves and biggest blunders.
Bill Cosby — Loser
It was a rough week for comedian Bill Cosby as Hollywood reacted to stories of sexual assault allegations. The public’s perception of the “Cosby Show” and “Fat Albert” star began to turn earlier this month when accusations of sexual assault began to surface. One can argue that he’s innocent until proven guilty, but the court of public opinion works by a different set of rules.
Netflix (NFLX) decided to nix a Cosby stand-up special that it was slated to begin streaming next week. That was followed by NBC pulling the plug on a Cosby-anchored sitcom that was in development for next year and TV Land eliminating “Cosby Show” reruns, including a Thanksgiving marathon that it was planning.
Nike (NKE) — Winner
Leave it to the company with the “Just do it” tagline to come through with another dividend increase. Nike announced this week that it’s boosting its quarterly dividend to 28 cents a share, a 17 percent increase over its previous rate.
Shareholders should be used to the hikes by now. Nike has now come through with higher payouts for 13 consecutive years. Pair that up with the four-year $8 billion share-repurchase program that it introduced two years ago and Nike’s going the extra mile in returning money to its investors.
GameStop (GME) — Loser
Sometimes scapegoats need scapegoats. GameStop moved lower after posting quarterly results on Thursday afternoon. The small-box video game retailer blames the soft showing on the delay of the “Assassin’s Creed: Unity” game.
Having a big game move from its fiscal third quarter to its fiscal fourth quarter would lead one to think that the holiday quarter is going to be great, but that’s not the case either. GameStop is offering ho-hum guidance, blaming other game delays.
GameStop should be rolling given the success of the Xbox One and PS4 that were released a year ago, but folks just aren’t buying enough games. Comparable-store sales declined 2.3 percent during the fiscal third quarter, and the midpoint of its guidance for the current period suggests that we’ll be seeing another negative showing for the holiday quarter.
Habit Restaurants (HABT) — Winner
There’s still plenty of heat in gourmet burgers. Habit Restaurants went public at $18 on Thursday. It wasn’t enough. The stock more than doubled, soaring 120 percent to close at $39.54 on its first day of trading. First-day pops are normal, but according to Dealogic, the average opening-day uptick has averaged just 12 percent this year.
Habit Restaurants is the parent company of The Habit Burger Grill. Remember that Consumer Reports survey earlier this year that showed McDonald’s (MCD) dead last in terms of burger quality and taste among 21 leading chains? The Habit Burger Grill was the top dog, just ahead of cult faves In-N-Out and Five Guys.
The hot IPO likely paves the way for Shake Shack’s inevitable debut. If In-N-Out or Five Guys are listening, now would be a good time follow suit.
Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) — Loser
Shares of Keurig Green Mountain slumped after it posted quarterly results. The quarter itself was solid, with revenue climbing 14 percent and its adjusted profit of 90 cents a share blowing past the 77 cents a share that Wall Street was targeting. This is the third quarter in a row that Keurig Green Mountain has beaten analyst profit forecasts by a double-digit margin.
However, bears won out on the announcement that its CFO would be stepping down next year, the java giant warning of weak guidance for the holiday quarter, and signs pointing to a fall release next year for Keurig Cold.
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