There were plenty of winners and losers this week, as the leading premium coffeehouse chain expanded its carbonated beverage offerings, and a disruptive video-streaming service got disrupted itself. Here’s a rundown of the week’s best and worst.
GoPro (GPRO) — Winner
The initial public offering market got some fresh meat on Thursday when GoPro went public. The company behind the popular namesake cameras that extreme sports enthusiast like to wear was a hit. It priced at $24 a share — at the high end of its initial range — and that still wasn’t enough. The stock opened at $28.65, closing out its first day of trading with a 31 percent gain.
GoPro’s growth has been stellar. Sales soared 87 percent last year to nearly hit $1 billion. However, there was a surprising decline in revenue during this year’s first quarter. New GoPro investors are assuming that the most recent quarter’s dip was a fluke. If it isn’t a fluke, they can record their stumble in glorious high-def.
Aereo — Loser
Sometimes it’s the disruptor that gets disrupted. Aereo, the start-up service that offers local TV channels as a streaming platform, was pummeled by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that Aereo violated the copyrights of major TV networks by streaming their content without paying transmission fees.
The move isn’t the end for Aereo, but its prognosis has clearly deteriorated. Aereo thought that incorporating tiny remote antennas that subscribers can access online was similar enough to actual HD antenna ownership by individuals that its business model would be found to be legal. That didn’t pan out, and consumers are unlikely to get a break this way from their ever-increasing cable and satellite TV bills.
Starbucks (SBUX) — Winner
If you need to cool down in the Sun Belt, Starbucks has a few fizzy options. The java giant this week introduced its Fizzio line of carbonated beverages at 3,000 of its stores in the South.
Fizzio is a line of handcrafted sodas that launched with three flavors (root beer, ginger ale and lemon ale), at 100 calories or less for 16 ounces. (Half as many calories as a Pepsi, and with cane sugar as the sweetener.) Starbucks is also letting customers pay 50 cents to have their iced teas and Refreshers beverages carbonated with the Fizzio machine. It’s a smart call, giving non-coffee drinkers a new reason to walk into Starbucks.
Steelcase (SCS) — Loser
Office furniture sales can be a good proxy by which to gauge the state of corporate America, but investors better hope that Steelcase is the exception.
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Shares of the office furniture specialist tumbled on Thursday after posting a report that was weak all around. Sales rose a softer than expected 8 percent, and the bottom-line growth that analysts were holding out for turned out to be a decline. Steelcase blames the margin contraction on “higher costs associated with product warranties, freight, and distribution.”
The future isn’t going to get a lot brighter, with its guidance for profitability for the current quarter falling well short of Wall Street targets.
Sonic (SONC) — Winner
The throwback chain of drive-in fast food restaurants posted better than expected quarterly results on Monday. At a time when some quick-service titans are struggling to grow restaurant-level sales, Sonic saw its comparable-restaurant sales move 5.3 percent higher.
Operating profits and net income climbed even higher, proving that Sonic isn’t sacrificing margins to get the job done. Now watch all of the larger chains get their drive-thru attendants to hand off food while wearing roller skates to match Sonic’s retro appeal.
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