A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week
Winnebago Industries (DOG)
WGO – NYSE
Think filling up your gas tank is expensive? Be glad you don’t drive a Winnebago. With gasoline prices soaring, shares of the recreational vehicle maker have been hurtling downhill like a runaway motorhome. The company’s latest quarterly results only made things worse: Even as revenue rose almost 39 per cent to US$1.2-billion for the period ended Feb. 26, gross margins were weaker than analysts expected, as higher selling prices were “offset by production inefficiencies related to supply constraints,” the company said. Investors are cancelling their summer road trips.
Adobe (DOG)
ADBE – Nasdaq
Adobe is perhaps best known for its Photoshop software, which lets users edit and manipulate images. Sadly, there’s no way to touch up the company’s ugly stock chart. Shares of the software developer – which also makes Lightroom, Illustrator, Acrobat and other products – had already tumbled by one-third from their November high after weak first-quarter guidance and a broad decline in tech stocks. This week, the shares added to their losses after Adobe slashed its full-year revenue estimate by US$75-million to reflect the suspension of sales in Russia. It’s not a pretty picture for investors.
Lockheed Martin (STAR)
LMT – NYSE
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands of people, created millions of refugees and raised fears of another world war. It’s also made a lot of money for defence stock investors. Shares of Lockheed Martin – the largest U.S. defence contractor – extended their gains after Cowen analyst Cai von Rumohr hiked his price target to US$435 from US$390, saying the war is generating support for higher military spending in the United States and Europe. In particular, countries are looking to purchase more traditional military equipment such as vehicles, helicopters and missiles, which make up more than half of Lockheed Martin’s sales. Let’s hope they never have to use them.
GameStop (STAR)
GME – NYSE
This again? Just when you thought the “meme stock” frenzy had run its course, the “degenerates” of Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum were back pumping their favourite company – this time with some help from its chairman. Shares of GameStop soared nearly 31 per cent Tuesday – their biggest gain in nearly a year – and added another 14 per cent Wednesday after a regulatory filing revealed that billionaire investor and GameStop chairman Ryan Cohen purchased an additional 100,000 shares, boosting his stake to 11.9 per cent. GameStop’s stock may be doing well, but the business continues to struggle: The company posted a loss of US$147.5-million, or US$1.94 a share, in its latest quarter. Like fundamentals matter.
Steelcase (DOG)
SCS – NYSE
Steelcase investors can’t seem to catch a break. First, the pandemic forced people to work from home, hurting demand for office furniture. Now, just as employees are heading back to the office, supply chain disruptions and soaring inflation are taking a bite out of Steelcase’s business. Shares of the company – which sells everything from office desks and chairs to whiteboards and lighting products – dropped after it swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of US$2.2 million, or 2 US cents a share. With the company forecasting a loss of 15 to 20 cents for the first quarter, Steelcase investors are steeling themselves for more bad news.
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John Heinzl