...OREGON INVESTMENT GROUP 12/04/2009 Technology Activision Blizzard, Inc. RECOMMENDATION: HOLD Stock Data Price (52 weeks) Symbol/Exchange Beta (Regression) Shares Outstanding Average daily volume (3 month average) Current market cap Current Price Dividend Dividend Yield Valuation (per share) DCF Analysis Comparables Analysis Target Price Current Price Summary Financials Revenue Net Income 2008A $3,026,000,000 -$107,000,000 $8.14 - $13.14 ATVI / NASDAQ 0.625 1,271,000,000 16,067,500 14,476,690,000 $11.39 N/A N/A $15.25 $4.74 $12.10 $11.39 Covering Analyst: Sean Golin Email: sgolin@uoregon.edu The University of Oregon Investment Group (UOIG) is a student run organization whose purpose is strictly educational. Member students are not certified or licensed to give investment advice or analyze securities, nor do they purport to be. Members of UOIG may have clerked, interned or held various employment positions with firms held in UOIG’s portfolio. In addition, members of UOIG may attempt to obtain employment positions with firms held in UOIG’s portfolio. Activision Blizzard, Inc. BUSINESS OVERVIEW university of oregon investment group http://uoig.uoregon.edu Activision Blizzard, Inc. is located in Santa Monica, CA. They are responsible for creating and publishing video games and accessories. These games are distributed and available on a wide range of platforms across the globe. Additionally, Activision Blizzard maintains and operates Battle.net, a online-game...
Words: 5497 - Pages: 22
...interesting to know that “console games software sales represented 82.6% of the market’s overall value. In comparison, the sales of personal computing games represented 17.4% of the market’s aggregate revenues”. In this way, development of new hardware sales usually drive the demand for development of high performance gaming software, as illustrated below9. As depicted previously, the future market value of this industry in the United States is expected to grow by 5% for the next five years, and total market value of $10.3 billion by the end of 201110. In comparison, the Asian market, UK market, and the French market are expected to grow with CAGRS of 15%, 8.9%, and 2.4% over the same five year period11. 2.2 Competitor Analysis The interactive gaming industry is comprised of 86 competitors as of 200812, with more consolidations of companies likely in the future due to the increased threats faced by piracy, increased competitive factors, riskiness due to...
Words: 3254 - Pages: 14
... 1. SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a business tool that helps a corporation of any size to assess its viability. The tool helps to identify major pros and cons in the industry of choice. The SWOT analysis assesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and weaknesses for the business. The tool is a great tactic that can be used to identify the state of a market or industry at any point in time. For this case, the company that is given consideration is Electronic Arts. The company was established in 1982 under the operating name Amazin’ software. The company changed the name to Electronic Arts and continued to develop games and sell games. In the decade between 1980 and 1990 the company enjoyed major success in the gaming industry. At the end of 1989, the company had become a publicly traded company. The revenues of the company increased from an average one hundred and thirteen million dollars to two hundred and ninety eight million dollars within two years from 1991. The success continued until 2006, when they were knocked off the number one spot by a rival named Activision. The SWOT analysis is a tool that could have been used to help Electronic Arts to strengthen their position in the gaming industry. The application of the SWOT tool would have analyzed the market trend, the competition, the internal structure of the company, weaknesses of the company, the innovative opportunities available, and also identify the direct threats in the market. The SWOT analysis tool could...
Words: 1729 - Pages: 7
... 1. Introduction Activision Blizzard is an American video game developer and publisher who is held by the French Vivendi group. It is the largest game developers and game publishers, and the first third-party game publishers in the world . Activision Blizzard was made by Activision and the U.S. Department of Vivendi, Blizzard Entertainment, on December 2, 2007, and Entertainment in July 9, 2008. The total operating funds is $ 18.9 billion . In November 2009 , Activision Blizzard 's first -person shooter "Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2" 4.5 million the number of pre-sale , and $ 400 million sales in the first day, what break the highest first day sales in the Guinness World record. Another major business of Activision Blizzard Blizzard Entertainment is a popular online role -playing game "World of Warcraft " and " Warcraft " series. From the market price, Activision Blizzard is the largest independent video game publishers in the world, because before the merger , the Activision is the second largest third-party game producers and publishers, and the EA Inc. is the biggest at that time. After merged, Activision Blizzard is not only more than EA, became the first major third-party publisher of the game , but more than Nintendo, became the first major game production and distribution company . 2. Industry Structure and Global Markets In their market, Activision Blizzard is facing competition, and they have two major competitors...
Words: 2543 - Pages: 11
...PURPOSE Recently, Activision Blizzard, Inc. successfully purchased shares from its parent conglomerate, Vivendi, in order to gain more control as a subsidiary. The reasons for the split will be examined in this report, as well as the current shareholders’ reaction to these significant changes. In addition, there will be an analysis of the negative effects for Activision Blizzard, Inc. that results from the deal between the two companies. The report will then discuss the main issue of the low amount of cash on hand. The final stages of the report will provide strategic recommendations for a plan of action to help the company overcome this obstacle, while remaining the top developer and publisher in the interactive gaming industry. There are several goals that the report hopes to accomplish. First, it will provide insight into a company that dominates the entertainment software industry. Second, the study will illustrate the drastic change in a company’s cash on hand after the purchase of shares. Third, it will propose new ways for the company to continue its momentum and match its past success. Finally, the goal of the report is to establish Activision Blizzard, Inc. as a company that has broken free from its parent conglomerate. PROBLEM STATEMENT The Deal The announcement that Activision Blizzard, Inc. and Vivendi would engage in a deal that would make Activision Blizzard, Inc. majority shareholder left the minority shareholders in the dust. As of June 30, 2013...
Words: 6412 - Pages: 26
...Company: Activision Blizzard, INC. (ATVI) PESTLE 1. Political Pg. 10 – Our products are sold internationally on a direct-to-retail basis, through third-party distribution and licensing arrangements, and through our wholly-owned European distribution subsidiaries. We conduct our international publishing activities through offices in the United Kingdom ("U.K."), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia and Ireland. • Activision Blizzard Inc. is an internationally traded company and most of its revenue is generated from foreign trade. Therefore it is subject to various foreign and domestic laws. Fluctuations in these laws such as increased tariffs, duties, transportation costs and instabilities in the currency exchange rates can adversely impact company’s operations in the foreign market. 2. Economic Pg. 13 – Our products involve discretionary spending on the part of consumers. Consumers are generally more willing to make discretionary purchases, including purchases of products like ours, during periods in which favorable economic conditions prevail. • Consumers purchasing trends have a direct relationship with economic condition. Therefore, current economic condition and global recession is likely to reduce consumer spending on the products which can have a negative impact on company’s operations and financial position. 3. Socio-cultural Pg. 10 –We often seek to maximize our worldwide revenues and profits by releasing high-quality...
Words: 2281 - Pages: 10
...goals. In the case of Activision Blizzard Inc., the goal of the company is to become the largest and most profitable game developer in the world. This goal will not be reached overnight. It requires a well-developed strategic plan supported by multiple operational plans. Strategic Plan - Defined In the business world, a strategic plan is a written outline. This outline compares the company’s goals with marketplace needs. It goes much further than a traditional plan. The strategic plan not only defines the goals, but also addresses how to utilize company resources and assets effectively to reach them. Positive results can be achieved through analyzing the business’s strengths and weaknesses, and acting appropriately on opportunities as they become available (Scott, 2015). Activision Blizzard Inc., created by the 2008 merger of Activision and Blizzard Entertainment, is one of the largest developers and publishers in the interactive gaming industry (Activision Blizzard Inc., 2015). Based upon Activision Blizzard Inc.’s SWOT analyses, the goal to become the largest and most profitable game developer in the world can only be achieved through an expansion in their current line of products. Strategically, the company has to increase the number of popular titles they release to the market. The top two interactive game producing moguls, Nintendo and Electronic Arts, control the arena by providing multiple popular titles to the marketplace. Activision Blizzard Inc. lives or dies by...
Words: 867 - Pages: 4
...By eliciting the example of Activision Blizzard, Inc., I’d like to point out the importance of administering a strong positioning strategy for firms: capacity to decide the course of marketing and sales, push for growth, and solidify their position in the market. Competitive positioning involves determining what features or benefits are most essential to the market, thereby constructing value for the market. Located on its investor’s page, the firm proclaims that it is “a worldwide online, PC, console, handheld and mobile game publisher with leading positions across every major category of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry.”1 The video game industry of today looks vastly different than it did 10 years ago, with the stark contrast being that many firms are designing their games to be more family-friendly; the stereotypes of video games no longer being just in the realm of teenage boys. All in all, the industry is faring well with reported sales of 273 million units in 2009, generating an astounding $10.5 billion in revenue. However, it is rather difficult to enter as many games necessitate enormous investments. Not only is it tough to enter, it’s extremely competitive since the big players already own a vast majority of the best brands and are interrelated, thereby enjoying great competitive advantages. To again quote its investor’s page, Activision Publishing’s objective is to “create, acquire, and maintain strong franchises... execute disciplined...
Words: 631 - Pages: 3
...Geographies of Transnational Corporations Paper I. Origin: Activision Blizzard Inc. is a “worldwide online, PC, console handheld and mobile game publisher” (Activisionblizzard.com/About-Us). Activision Blizzard Inc. ranks among the top game developers and distributors in the ever increasing world market of entertainment software. With top titles including “Call of Duty® as well as Spider-Man™, X-Men™, James Bond™ and TRANSFORMERS™, leading franchises such as Spyro™ and Blizzard Entertainment's® StarCraft®, Diablo®, and Warcraft® franchises including the global #1 subscription-based massively multi-player online role-playing game, World of Warcraft®” (Activisionblizzard.com/About-Us), Activision Blizzard has become one of the more well-known publishers in the world. Activision Blizzard Inc. maintains operations on four continents while providing coverage for online games throughout the entire connected world. The original company, Activision, encompassed by the holding company known as Activision Blizzard was founded in October 1979 in, Northern California, as the “first independent developer and distributor of entertainment software.” (Timeline) Activision was founded by disgruntled programmers that were not being recognized or appropriately compensated by Atari for their hand in the game creation that was accounting for millions of dollars of annual revenue for the company. David Crane, Alan Miller, Larry Kaplan and Bob Whitehead were known as the “Gang of Four,”...
Words: 1798 - Pages: 8
...Activision Blizzard, Fiscal Year 2010 Lance Kilpatrick Barbara McGuire Accounting 100 19 August 2011 Activision Blizzard is a video game publisher with a large customer base because of its record shattering sales numbers, as well as, its online gaming division that is the most recognizable brand in the industry. It was a small LLC from 1982 until 2001, at which time it began public trading for FY 2002. The annual fiscal report to the stockholders for Activision Blizzard begins with a list recent achievements gained in the past five years followed by a letter from both the current CEO and co-chairman of the board. In that letter both men explained the vision for future developments, and also explained the success of the company in the form of the company's first ever dividend, and gave detailed information concerning the multiple records broken in sales, digital sales, first time online subscriptions, and online users. The second part discusses in detail using graphs and charts the actual numbers of sales made. This portion includes digital and physical sales, along with, subscription sales. Because of the nature of the product the company will experience an increase in sales into the foreseeable future. The third part of the financial report discusses a ten year summary of financial data and trends of the industry. While sales did dip in FY 2003 sales skyrocketed with the introduction of World of Warcraft, the number one selling online game of all time....
Words: 831 - Pages: 4
...OREGON INVESTMENT GROUP 12/04/2009 Technology Activision Blizzard, Inc. RECOMMENDATION: HOLD Stock Data Price (52 weeks) Symbol/Exchange Beta (Regression) Shares Outstanding Average daily volume (3 month average) Current market cap Current Price Dividend Dividend Yield Valuation (per share) DCF Analysis Comparables Analysis Target Price Current Price Summary Financials Revenue Net Income 2008A $3,026,000,000 -$107,000,000 $8.14 - $13.14 ATVI / NASDAQ 0.625 1,271,000,000 16,067,500 14,476,690,000 $11.39 N/A N/A $15.25 $4.74 $12.10 $11.39 Covering Analyst: Sean Golin Email: sgolin@uoregon.edu The University of Oregon Investment Group (UOIG) is a student run organization whose purpose is strictly educational. Member students are not certified or licensed to give investment advice or analyze securities, nor do they purport to be. Members of UOIG may have clerked, interned or held various employment positions with firms held in UOIG’s portfolio. In addition, members of UOIG may attempt to obtain employment positions with firms held in UOIG’s portfolio. Activision Blizzard, Inc. BUSINESS OVERVIEW university of oregon investment group http://uoig.uoregon.edu Activision Blizzard, Inc. is located in Santa Monica, CA. They are responsible for creating and publishing video games and accessories. These games are distributed and available on a wide range of platforms across the globe. Additionally, Activision Blizzard maintains and operates Battle.net, a online-game...
Words: 5497 - Pages: 22
...the company to summarize the transactions that went on throughout the year. Activision Blizzard, Inc, is a worldwide online, personal computer, video game console, handheld and mobile device game publisher (2012 Annual Report, Activision Blizzard Inc). The main sections of its annual report are the statement of operations, balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows. Annual Report Main Sections The statement of operations, also known as the income statement, is used to access the performance and financial position of a company (Kelly & McGowen, 2012). It performs this action by listing the revenue collected minus the expenses deducted to give a net income or net loss. Activision Blizzard Inc., its total revenue was higher that its total expense thus when put into the equation revenue – expenses with the revenue higher the company received a net income. The balance sheet, sometimes called the statement of financial position, is the summary of the companies financial balances (Kelly & McGowen, 2012). The balance sheet shows the company's assets, liabilities and owner's equity. This is information is presented in an equation where the assets must be equal to the liabilities plus the owner's equity. The statement of cash flows is the financial statement that shows how the changes in balance sheet accounts and income are affecting the cash and cash equivalents, and it breaks down the analysis of investing, operating and financing of company activities (Kelly & McGowen...
Words: 849 - Pages: 4
...use of SWOT Analysis could have helped Electronic Arts (EA) to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Particular, if EA used the SWOT analysis they would identify the weaknesses in their management style. The EA managers are profit and productivity driven while the developers are driven by creativity and freedom. EA managers often demand unrealistic deadlines, set up unfair bonus distribution system and deprive the original developers of freedom and creativity. All of these conditions make many of their developers quit. However EA managers didn’t care so much about this because they could always move on. That is because one of their managerial strategies was to acquire as many studios as they could. Even though, EA managers’ strategies used to work for EA in the past, with rising power of Activision, these strategies had to be revised. That is because Activision’s raising power and preferred management style gain over many of EA developers depriving EA of its best people. The STOW analysis would help EA to identify their weakness in managerial tactics when facing the rising power of rivals. The SWOT analysis would also help the EA to anticipate the threats of Activision rising marketing power. For example, in the past EA was the largest supplier of entertainment software, while Activision was far behind. Activision had an impressive history; however their sales figures were not so impressive. That clouded EA’s judgment about Activision. However, after...
Words: 1653 - Pages: 7
...Team 1 Company Analysis 1 Jackson Berry, Will Berman, Amanda Curtis, Jenny Zhang Professor Belz Case Studies in Innovation March 3, 2016 NintenDON’T Nintendo captured many hearts and households in the late 1980s, and its legacy lives on through the games that made it the bestselling console of its time. Revolutionizing the world of video games, Nintendo survived the burst of the video game bubble through its storytelling across multiple game console platforms. Their products were conceived at the intersections of inexpensive hardware and unique, beloved storytelling in their games; this combination made their console a household staple. In an era of heartthrobs and fads, Nintendo rose above and surpassed a simple level of trendiness. The company defined gaming innovation: “to play Nintendo” became synonymous with video gaming. 1983 saw the first recession in the video game industry in the form of the “Atari Shock,” after the market became too populated with so many different games and consoles. This caused an oversaturation of the console industry, which was already competing heavily with home computer games. Thus, the “Atari Shock” was a flooding of a market in which no player had a majority share, and the excess of thirdparty games resulted in decreased shelf space and decreased sales. People started believing video games were a fad, and amidst the chaos, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was born. Nintendo made purposeful branding decisions ...
Words: 1905 - Pages: 8
... Information Technology Strategic Plan Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher company based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1991, by three University of California, Los Angeles graduate’s students, Michael Morthaime, Frank Dearce and Allen Adham, under the name Silicon & Synapse. Before 1993, the company primarily focused on creating game ports, a connector for video game input devices, for other studios. After being acquired by Davidson & Associates, a distributor company, in 1994, the company became known as Chaos Studios and shortly after Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. Blizzard’s mission is dedicated to creating the most epic entertainment experiences…ever (us.blizzard.com.). With eight core values that represent the principles and beliefs, has shaped this company throughout the years. Their goal is to make every game as fun as possible for as many people they can reach. To improve the quality of the gaming experience, Blizzard Entertainment seeks honest feedback from gamers. Understanding that first and lasting impressions are everything in the gaming industry, the company strives to maintain a high level of respect and integrity in all interactions with players, colleagues, and business partners. Everyone has a little geek in them. With cutting edge technology, comic books, science fiction and top-end video cards, Blizzard helps gamers embrace their inner geek with fun and creative games. For...
Words: 2423 - Pages: 10
