Diamonds and Dogs

12/4/15

"It's in the game," is the classic sports slogan from today's diamond, Electronic Arts (EA). Electronic Arts is up 4% on an upgrade and positive comments at a Credit Suisse Technology, Media, and Telecom conference this week. Speaking at the conference, Electronic Arts labeled their lineup of upcoming video games as an "embarrassment of riches." Electronic Art's games seem to be on the top of teenagers' wish list for this holiday season including Black Ops 3 and Star Wars Battlefront. The company plans on releasing 3 more of their widely loved series next year including Battlefield, Mass Effect Andromeda, and Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2. Things look to be heating up at EA Sports, "Its' in the game."

The brick and mortar crowd claims another victum. Barnes & Noble (BKS) fell 16% today making a new 52 week low following disappointing earnings. Quarterly revenue fell 4.5% year over year to $895 million, well below analysts' consensus expectations. The company reported a quarterly loss due to store closures, a 1% comparable-store sales decline, and lower online sales. Barnes & Noble's NOOK didn't fair any better with sales decline of 31.9% year over year. The fourth quarter isn't looking much better. Barnes & Noble reiterated its full fiscal-year 2016 guidance for retail core comparable-bookstore sales to be roughly flat from fiscal 2015, while comparable-store sales excluding NOOK products are expected to increase 1%. Doesn't look like another to brag about at Barnes & Noble.