Slideshow
The Globe's Stars and Dogs for the week of Feb. 3
A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week
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Zynga
Contrary to what critics say, Facebook isn’t just a way to waste time learning what old high school friends ate for dinner. It’s also a way to waste time playing games like Farmville and Mafia Wars. And that’s fine with shareholders of Zynga, which makes these and other games that generated $480-million for the social networking giant last year – a hefty 12 per cent of Facebook’s revenue, according to its IPO filing. Time well wasted indeed.
Zynga ZNGA-Q
up $3.34 or 33.2% over week
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Mattel
“Ken, honey, did you see Mattel’s earnings?”
“Sure did, Barbie. Fourth-quarter profit jumped 14 per cent and the company raised its dividend by 35 per cent.”
“Well, maybe we should, you know, celebrate. Hint, hint.”
“Uh, can this wait until after the football game?”
“Never mind. I’m calling G.I. Joe.”
Mattel MAT-Q
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MasterCard
Good news: Americans are whipping out their credit cards again. Bad news: Wasn’t debt what got the country into this mess in the first place? MasterCard’s fourth-quarter profit surged 24 per cent to $514-million, sailing past Wall Street estimates, as spending with credit and debit cards increased. With revenue expected to grow at an annual rate of 12 to 14 per cent over the next two years, MasterCard shareholders can afford to pay cash. Priceless.
MasterCard MA-N
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Mood Media
If you owned a store, a good way to encourage people to buy things would be to throw them up against a wall and say “You buy this or I bust your face, see?” Or you could try a more subtle approach: Mood Media, which uses a combination of music, visuals and scents with its retail clients to stimulate sales, said it expects fourth-quarter earnings before “exceptional costs” to come in ahead of expectations, giving the stock a boost.
Mood Media MM-T
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Smart Technologies
Smart Technologies investors must be feeling a bit stupid at the moment. The company that makes electronic whiteboards for classrooms and businesses said third-quarter profit fell 13 per cent, hit by lower gross margins and charges to move its Ottawa assembly operations to “low-cost jurisdictions.” With full-year net income now expected to be down 10 per cent instead of flat, investors are sitting in the corner and wearing a dunce cap.
Smart Technologies SMA-T
