Investors love technology. They need the latest platforms to stay up to date with the latest market news, and they are well aware of the outsized returns some of the companies in that market have managed in the last ten years. Those are the firms that tend to dominate headlines. The advent of a new generation of consoles is, once again, a confusing event for investors.
Market websites are stuffed with the latest facts and figures about the PS4 and the Xbox One, but none among them offers a reasonable way to invest in the consoles. The games market is a complicated one, and the biggest companies in it are behemoths. A new report from Edward Woo, analyst at Ascendiant, offers a way for investors to gain exposure to the latest generation of consoles.
GameStop proxies the next generation
GameStop is a physical retailer. The Xbox One an the PS4 both offer consumers the ability to download games directly onto their consoles. This means that the GameStop Corp.(NYSE:GME) business model will be facing an existential threat through the next generation if it manages to survive the entirety of it.
Stock in GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) is a bet on the success of the entirety of the next generation, and the survival of physical retail in the games industry. There seems little way to bet on the success of the PS4 or the Xbox One individually. A bet on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) or Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758) is a bet on the success of monstrosities that surround the games parts of the businesses as well as the consoles.
GameStop earnings incoming
GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) will release its earnings numbers for the third quarter of the year before the market opens on Thursday. Ascendiant analyst Woo is optimistic about the company’s prospects. He sees the release of the new consoles, and the associated pre-orders, as boons for the company’s fourth quarter results.
Woo says that the current valuation of the stock is attractive, and remains positive on its potential in the medium term. GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) stock has more than doubled so far in 2014 as the world heads towards the next console-fueled Christmas.
