Going into Hasbro's (NASDAQ:HAS) second-quarter financial release, investors were bracing themselves for the worst. The industry is still recovering from the passing of Toys R Us, the last remaining toy-centric big-box retailer.
While the results were still lower than the same time last year, they weren't as bad as many had feared, and Hasbro stock soared on the company's better-than-expected earnings report.
Image source: Hasbro.
The raw numbers| Revenue | $904.5 million | $972.5 million | (7.0%) |
| Operating income | $87.6 million | $100.0 million | (12.4%) |
| Net income | $60.3 million | $67.7 billion | (10.9%) |
| Diluted earnings per share | $0.48 | $0.53 | (9.4%) |
Data source: Hasbro Second-Quarter Financial Release.
For the second quarter, Hasbro reported net revenue of $904.5 million, a decrease of 7% year over year, while earnings per share of $0.48 marked a 9% decline. While that may not seem like anything to write home about, the numbers crushed analysts' consensus estimates for revenue of $844.2 million and earnings per share of $0.29. It was also a vast improvement from the more significant drop that occurred�just last quarter.�
The decline was broad-based, hitting each of the company's major operating segments:
| Franchise brands | $506.5 million | $552.4 million | (8.3%) |
| Partner brands | $208.0 million | $230.0 million | (9.6%) |
| Hasbro gaming | $134.3 million | $133.9 million | 0.0% |
| Emerging brands | $55.6 million | $56.2 million | (1.1%) |
Data source: Hasbro Second-Quarter Financial Release.
Revenue from Hasbro's franchise brands fell 8% year over year -- the company had strong sales in Magic: The Gathering, Monopoly, and Baby Alive, but unfortunately, those were more than offset by declines in other brands like Transformers, which saw tough comps due to a movie launch in the year-ago quarter.
Partner brands also took a hit, declining almost 10% compared to the prior-year quarter. Increased sales of Beyblade and Marvel toys weren't enough to compensate for declines in the rest of the category.
One bright spot was Hasbro's gaming category, where sales increased just slightly year over year.
| U.S. and Canada | $459.3 million | $494.4 million | (7.1%) |
| International | $380.4 million | $426.6 million | (10.8%) |
| Entertainment and licensing | $64.7 million | $51.5 million | 25.6% |
Data source: Hasbro Second-Quarter Financial Release.
Hasbro said that efforts to work through inventory in Europe were ongoing, hampered not only by the bankruptcy of Toys R Us but also by that of a French retailer that went into receivership last quarter.
The company's entertainment and licensing segment was actually up 26%, but as such a small part of Hasbro's top line, it wasn't able to move the needle.�
Management signaled confidence in Hasbro's future, repurchasing over 820,000 shares of its stock during the quarter at an average price of $90.33 per share. Those purchases totaled just over $74 million. The company has been taking advantage of its sagging stock price, buying back 1.2 million shares so far this year.
"2018 is unfolding as expected as our teams manage the liquidation of Toys R Us in many markets and address the rapidly evolving European retail landscape," said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's chairman and chief executive officer. "We are investing in our business -- in innovation, entertainment and a modern global commercial organization, to drive profitable growth in 2019 and beyond."
Looking aheadFor the third quarter, analysts are expecting revenue of $1.71 billion, which would be a 4.5% decline year over year, and adjusted earnings per share of $2.34, a 12% increase.
On the conference call to discuss the earnings, Goldner said that it will likely take the rest of 2018 to work through the fallout caused by the demise of Toys R Us, but he doesn't see any ill effects lingering into 2019.
For now, however, investors appear to be relieved that Hasbro has been able to minimize the damage and are willing to give the company the benefit of the doubt that things will soon be back to normal.
Crescent Point Energy Corp (NYSE:CPG) (TSE:CPG) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.75. 
Blakecoin (CURRENCY:BLC) traded 8.9% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 19:00 PM ET on July 19th. Over the last seven days, Blakecoin has traded 0% higher against the U.S. dollar. Blakecoin has a market cap of $269,871.00 and $130.00 worth of Blakecoin was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Blakecoin coin can currently be bought for about $0.0143 or 0.00000192 BTC on exchanges including Cryptopia and C-Patex. 
Tom Gentile
FirstCash, Inc. operates retail-based pawn and consumer finance stores in the United States and Mexico. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including consumer electronics, jewelry, power tools, household appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails previously owned merchandise acquired through pawn forfeitures, as well as through purchases from the general public. The company also engages in melting scrap jewelry, as well as sells the gold, silver, and diamonds in commodity markets. Its consumer finance stores provide small unsecured consumer loans, credit services, and check cashing services. As of December 31, 2017, the company owned and operated 2,039 pawn stores and 72 consumer loan stores in 26 states of the United States and 32 states of Mexico, as well as Guatemala and El Salvador. The company was formerly known as First Cash Financial Services, Inc. and changed its name to FirstCash, Inc. in September 2016. FirstCash, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.
CafePress Inc. operates as retailer of personalized products in the United States and internationally. The company offers gifts and accessories, including T-shirts and apparel; mugs and drinkware; and home goods, such as custom shower curtains and bed coverings. It conducts its business on its primary United States based domain, CafePress.com; and operates CafePress branded Websites for the markets in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The company also sells CafePress branded products through other online retail partners. The company was formerly known as CafePress.com, Inc. and changed its name to CafePress Inc. in June 2011. CafePress Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.
MetLife Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clearside Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ:CLSD) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,000. 
American International Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) by 320.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 182,605 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 139,218 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Patterson Companies worth $4,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 
Simulations Plus, Inc. develops drug discovery and development software for mechanistic modeling and simulation worldwide. The company offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics of drugs administered to humans and animals; DDDPlus that simulates in vitro laboratory experiments, which measure the rate of dissolution of the drug and additives in a dosage form; and MembranePlus, which simulates laboratory experiments. It also provides PKPlus, a standalone program that provides the functionality needed by pharmaceutical industry scientists to perform the analyses and generate the outputs needed to satisfy regulatory agency requirements for NCA and compartmental PK modelling; ADMET Predictor, a chemistry-based computer program, which takes molecular structures as inputs and predicts their properties; and MedChem Designer, a molecule drawing program or sketcher that integrates with MedChem Studio and ADMET Predictor. In addition, it offers MedChem Studio, a software tool for data mining and designing new molecules; KIWI, a cloud-based Web application, which organizes, processes, maintains, and communicates the volume of data and results generated by pharmacologists and scientists over the duration of a drug development program; DILIsym, a quantitative systems pharmacology software; and DILIsym, a software that is used to investigate the likelihood that a known drug molecule would cause injury to the liver. Further, the company provides consulting services ranging from early drug discovery through preclinical and clinical trial data analysis, and for submissions to regulatory agencies; and population modeling and simulation contract research services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Additionally, it offers its pharmaceutical/chemistry software to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrochemical, and food companies. Simulations Plus, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Lancaster, California.
NetScout Systems, Inc. provides real-time operational intelligence and performance analytics for service assurance, and cybersecurity solutions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers nGeniusONE management software that enables customers to predict, preempt, and resolve network and service delivery problems, as well as facilitate the optimization and capacity planning of their network infrastructures; and specialized platforms and analytic modules that enable its customers to analyze and troubleshoot traffic in radio access and WiFi networks, as well as gain timely insight into services, applications, and systems. It also provides Intelligent Data Sources under the Infinistream brand name that provide real-time collection and analysis of data from the network; packet flow switching solutions that delivers targeted network traffic access to an increasing number of monitoring and security systems; and a suite of test access points that enable non-disruptive access to network traffic with multiple link type and speed options. In addition, the company offers portable network analysis and troubleshooting tools, which help customers identify key issues that impact network and application performance. Further, it provides security solutions that enable service providers and enterprises to protect their networks against DDoS attacks; and threat detection solutions that enable enterprises to identify and investigate advanced threat campaigns that present tangible risks to the integrity of their networks. The company serves enterprise customers in industries, such as financial services, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, education, transportation, and retail; mobile operators, wireline operators, and cable operators; and governmental agencies through a direct sales force, and indirect reseller and distribution channels. NetScout Systems, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts.
Brokerages expect bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) to announce earnings of ($2.27) per share for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Six analysts have made estimates for bluebird bio’s earnings. The highest EPS estimate is ($0.84) and the lowest is ($2.55). bluebird bio reported earnings of ($1.73) per share in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a negative year over year growth rate of 31.2%. The firm is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, August 1st.