Marvel's Profits Fall

Remember a couple of days back when I was discussing that several comic book stores, some of them very high-quality stores and some not, have been closing. I then put out the question of weather or not this was a sign of consolidation or trouble in the comics and pop culture entertainment industry. (Click this link to read that post)

Today I see that Marvel Entertainment's 2nd quarter profits were down, lower than expected. According to the Reuters report, the Hasbro toy line for Marvel has been down, and they've cut their toy sales forcast for the second half of the year. "Marvel's second-quarter toy segment revenue fell about 24 percent to $19.3 million, which makes up about one-fifth of total sales... Shares of the company were trading down about 8 percent at $22.05 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange."

I have put Marvel's 1-year stock chart here, so you can see how the price has been moving. It looks like it's actually up, but on a decline at the moment. Not all that unusual, as sometimes stocks go up too quickly and then the market corrects the price by brining it down to a more realistic level. How hard this loss of profit will hurt them is to be seen.

This could be a sign that the pop culture/entertainment market is in a decline. Or, it could simply be proof that Marvel made a bad choice when they moved their toy line from Toybiz to Hasbro. (Have you seen the Hasbro made Marvel Legends? They're HORRIBLE!!)