Here's the thing about Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS): it released its quarterly results recently, and as one might expect, the numbers aren't so important, considering that the SARS-CoV-2 crisis has thrown everything off-kilter.
However, there is a story to Hasbro, a high-concept one: the company should bounce back not only over the long term but even on a shorter-term scale. When the holidays arrive in the fall/winter period, consumers and their children will be happily consuming the company's products as this will be the first Christmas season under the dark auspices of an infectious agent.
That should translate to a rise in the stock, in theory at least. One would assume the company will do well in terms of earnings potential when it reports those upcoming holiday stats.
I'll be taking a brief look at the quarter and will size up the current strategy (with Entertainment One a focus). In many ways, Hasbro is a supply-chain story right now, as evidenced by the press release for the first quarter. But it's also a collection of popular brands/IP, and a burgeoning media company. There's a lot to like here.
The First Quarter
The company reported these numbers a month ago, and management clearly wants to communicate its confidence as the global community continues to combat the Covid-19 curve. The first thing shareholders should know is that the company has $1.2 billion on the balance sheet (driven in large part by debt, but still, at this time, it's good to know it was there at the date of the report). Then there is the ability to use a significant line of credit of $1.5 billion, which is attached to a revolving facility.
As for quarterly cash flow, Hasbro did pretty well. It generated a little over $290 million from operations against $265 million last year at this time. Capital
