The last two months have seen restaurants closing down, no new films releasing in theatres, no live music performances and sporting events getting canceled indefinitely. But the show must go on!
The coronavirus pandemic has taught us many things and one among them is how to stay entertained within the confines of our homes. This has seen a surge demand for technology-driven sources of entertainment.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Entertainment Getting Redefined” data-reactid=”21″>Entertainment Getting Redefined
Fears of the spread of the virus, which has led to measures like long-stretched lockdowns and social distancing, have changed the ways of entertained we knew so long.
Now, streaming videos, playing video games and listening to music online at one’s own luxury have been changing the definition of entertainment. The past months, particularly after the coronavirus outbreak, have witnessed a surge in users of video and music-on-demand streaming services like Amazon.com, Inc.’s AMZN Amazon Prime Video and Spotify, Inc. SPOT. Also, video game sales have been on the rise for the past couple of months, hitting a 12-year-high.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Video Streaming, Video Games Market Poised to Grow” data-reactid=”24″>Video Streaming, Video Games Market Poised to Grow
According to a report by The NPD Group, video game sales hit $1.5 billion in the month of April, beating the earlier U.S. record of $1.2 billion set in April 2008. The demand continued through May, with video game sales reaching $1.2 million. Spending on video games is a whopping $5.5 billion year to date, up 18% from a year ago. According to Research and Markets, the global console games market is expected to grow from $40.6 billion in 2019 to about $57.9 billion in 2020.
Streaming services too have seen an escalation in the number of paid subscribers. Also, the launch of AT&T, Inc.’s T HBO Max and The Walt Disney Company’s DIS Disney+ expansion into Asia and European market during the pandemic has helped the companies add more users within a short period of time.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Our Choices” data-reactid=”27″>Our Choices
Here we focus on three stocks that have been redefining the face of entertainment lately and have been major beneficiaries of the coronavirus-related at-home orders. These players are well poised for growth in the future.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Activision Blizzard, Inc. ATVI has been witnessing a spike in demand for its video game titles since the outbreak. In spite of a spate of new launches, the company’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare continued to enjoy the top selling spot both in April through May.” data-reactid=”29″>Activision Blizzard, Inc. ATVI has been witnessing a spike in demand for its video game titles since the outbreak. In spite of a spate of new launches, the company’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare continued to enjoy the top selling spot both in April through May.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="With more people at home since March, Activision Blizzard has reported high engagement levels across most of its games. The Call of Duty title has helped the company to more than double its monthly active users to 102 million following three releases in the last two quarters: Call of Duty: Mobile, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone. That last entry debuted at a perfect time with more than 60 million people downloading the game after its Mar 10 release just as shelter-in-place orders were going into effect. ” data-reactid=”30″>With more people at home since March, Activision Blizzard has reported high engagement levels across most of its games. The Call of Duty title has helped the company to more than double its monthly active users to 102 million following three releases in the last two quarters: Call of Duty: Mobile, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone. That last entry debuted at a perfect time with more than 60 million people downloading the game after its Mar 10 release just as shelter-in-place orders were going into effect.
The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 23.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 12.1% over the past 60 days. Its shares have advanced 5.7% in the past one month. Activision Blizzardsports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Netflix, Inc. NFLX has been leading in the video streaming space for quite some time now, and further got a boost during the pandemic. The video-streaming giant added more than 15.8 million subscribers from January through March, taking its global total to 182.9 million. The company had predicted that it would add around 7 million customers during the period but the surge came on the back of the pandemic-related shelter-in-place orders.” data-reactid=”32″>Netflix, Inc. NFLX has been leading in the video streaming space for quite some time now, and further got a boost during the pandemic. The video-streaming giant added more than 15.8 million subscribers from January through March, taking its global total to 182.9 million. The company had predicted that it would add around 7 million customers during the period but the surge came on the back of the pandemic-related shelter-in-place orders.
Market research firm Kalagato estimates that Netflix users spent an average of 80 minutes per day on the platform toward the end of March compared to a daily average of 46.4 minutes at the beginning of February.
The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 55.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.2% over the past 30 days. Its shares have gained 4% in the past one month. Netflix carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Nintendo Co. NTDOY has also been gaining from the coronavirus related stay-at-home orders. Major retailers are struggling to restock supplies of Nintendo’s best-selling items including Nintendo Switch. Online, the Nintendo Switch has sold out within minutes every time it’s been restocked. In the first quarter of 2020, Nintendo sold almost half of its games digitally, a record that helped increase the company’s profits by a staggering 41%. The company’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released in March and became one of the top-selling video games of this year. ” data-reactid=”35″>Nintendo Co. NTDOY has also been gaining from the coronavirus related stay-at-home orders. Major retailers are struggling to restock supplies of Nintendo’s best-selling items including Nintendo Switch. Online, the Nintendo Switch has sold out within minutes every time it’s been restocked. In the first quarter of 2020, Nintendo sold almost half of its games digitally, a record that helped increase the company’s profits by a staggering 41%. The company’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released in March and became one of the top-selling video games of this year.
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