Skip to main content

A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week.

Buffalo Wild Wings


BWLD (Nasdaq)

  June 27, 2014 close: $164.13 (U.S.)
  up $7.21 or 4.6% over week

Not content to dominate football, baseball and basketball, the U.S. has now set its sights on the world’s most popular sport – soccer. And Buffalo Wild Wings shareholders couldn’t be more thrilled: With sales of wings and beer surging as the chain of sports bars attracts standing-room only crowds for the World Cup, the shares hit a record this week. Now that the U.S. soccer team has advanced to the knockout round, investors are ordering seconds of Buffalo Wild Wings’ stock.

Nike


NKE (NYSE)

  June 27, 2014 close: $77.68 (U.S.)
  up $2.58 or 3.4% over week

Personal finance quiz:

If you have only $200 to your name, you should use the money to:


a) buy groceries;
b) pay your utility bill;
c) purchase a new pair of $190 Nike Jordan Super Fly basketball shoes.

Judging by Nike’s fiscal fourth-quarter results, a lot of people are choosing c. The athletic shoe and apparel maker’s revenue surged 11 per cent to $7.43-billion (U.S.) for the period ended May 31 as profit beat expectations, making Nike’s shares a slam dunk for investors.

Iron Mountain


IRM (NYSE)

  June 27, 2014 close: $34.81
  up $4.57 or 15.1% over week

Boring: Working the night shift at a document storage warehouse.

Exciting: Investing in the company that owns the warehouse.

Shares of Iron Mountain – which provides records management, document shredding and other services to businesses – surged after the board approved a plan to convert the company to a real estate investment trust. With Iron Mountain poised to pay less corporate tax and hike its distribution to shareholders, the stock’s climbing a mountain of its own.

Bed Bath & Beyond


BBBY (Nasdaq)

  June 27, 2014 close: $57.45 (U.S.)
  down $2.62 or 4.4% over week

Good thing Bed Bath & Beyond sells plenty of towels, because shareholders took a bath this week. Hurt by severe winter weather and an uncertain economy, the home-furnishings retailer said fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 7.6 per cent and projected second-quarter results came in well below analyst expectations. With the stock down about 29 per cent this year, shareholders are watching their money circle the drain.

Empire Co.


EMP.A (TSX)

  June 27, 2014 close: $70.82
  up $4.25 or 6.4% over week

Selling groceries is a tough business, what with Wal-Mart, Costco and Target all vying for a piece of the pie. But you won’t hear any complaints from shareholders of Empire: Even as the company announced the closing of 50 stores across its Sobeys, Safeway, Foodland and IGA banners, it posted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that beat analyst expectations and hiked its dividend by 3.8 per cent - the 19th consecutive annual increase. After tumbling for much of the past year, Empire’s stock is striking back.