While the comics world is focused on the Windy City this weekend, CNNMoney.com is looking ahead to Marvel’s quarterly results coming out on Monday, even though they say nobody cares:
When comic book company Marvel Entertainment reports its second-quarter results Monday, it’s safe to say that few will care about how Marvel actually did in the second quarter.
Everyone who follows the company closely knows that this is not going to be a good quarter (or year, for that matter) for Marvel. That’s because Marvel generates the bulk of its sales and profits from licensing the rights to its characters for use in movies, television shows, video games and other merchandise.
While the third X-Men movie did well in theaters, CNNMoney.com thinks that Wall Street is more interested in 2007, when three Marvel films, including Ghost Rider and Spider-Man 3, are set to open:
Yeah, it may seem too early for Wall Street to get excited about “Spider-Man 3″ (although have you seen how cool Venom looks in the trailer?) but now actually is the time for investors to start paying attention to how much of a lift this movie will give to Marvel’s sales and profits.
“People are looking at the story for next year with ‘Spider-Man 3′ coming out. How could you not? That’s where the growth is going to be,” said Arvind Bhatia director of research with Sterne, Agee & Leach.
They also talk about takeover rumors, noting that Avi Arad, Bruno Maglione and Tim Rothwell’s departures could mean something bigger:
But Routh said that instead of worrying, Marvel investors might want to read between the lines. He speculates that maybe Rothwell and Maglione left because Marvel might be getting ready to shop itself to another larger media company.
“These defections may point to something going on with the company that’s bigger than people realize,” Routh said. “The only reason you leave is if you have a position that’s significantly better or if that something is going on where you wouldn’t be needed.”
As such, Routh said that Marvel could be a good fit for Viacom, whose Paramount movie studio will distribute a film based on Marvel’s “Iron Man” in 2008, News Corp, which has produced all three X-Men movies and last year’s “Fantastic Four,” or Time Warner, which owns rival comic book publisher DC Comics. (Time Warner is also the parent company of CNNMoney.com)
Keep in mind that Marvel and takeover rumors certainly aren’t strangers …
