Coinstar's fourth-quarter profit fell 27 percent due to poor performance at its new ventures. It forecast disappointing earnings ahead, and its shares tumbled in after-hours trading Thursday. The company owns the Redbox DVD kiosks and its namesake coin-counting sites.
Among the things sure to help shape the week ahead on Wall Street, Visa will tell us whether we've been choosing plastic over paper; Disney will tell us how much magic it has in its financials; and Panera and Chipotle will serve up their quarterly results.
The financial markets are closed for the Christmas holiday, but when trading resumes on Wednesday, here's what's likely to help shape the rest of the week on Wall Street.
Netflix is the undisputed champ when it comes to streaming video. But there's one thing its competitors will do that Netflix won't: stream new releases. Will that be the company's undoing?
Companies can do brilliant things, but there are also times where they fall flat on their faces. Sometimes CEOs can save the day, but at other times, they say and do the darndest things. There were plenty of winners and blunders this week: These were my favorites.
If you're looking for investment opportunities, check out the twenty companies profiled here. There are a few familiar names on the list, but many more you may never have heard of.
In a single deal, Amazon has become a legitimate rival to Netflix. Its streaming deal with EPIX gives its Amazon Prime customers free access to 2,000 movies from Paramount Pictures, MGM, and Lionsgate -- films like Iron Man 2, Super 8, True Grit, Rango, and many others.
You know that old iPhone 2 that's sitting in your desk drawer, or maybe an old Blackberry (gasp!) that got stored alongside your Guitar Hero peripherals? Well, EcoATM wants them, and is willing to pay.
Sirius XM Radio raised its prices in January and totally got away with it. Last summer, Netflix tried it and got burned. So what did the satellite radio giant do smarter than the streaming video king?
There were a few positives in Netflix's quarterly report Tuesday, but the stock fell 14% thanks in part to mixed results and uninspiring guidance. But the real reasons investors fled are more complex -- and disturbing.
Best Buy is suffering from falling sales, and it needs a new CEO, but it's not dead yet. Thinking outside the big box, there are ways to get the consumer electronics retailer back on track.
DVDs -- and even their more modern Blu-ray siblings -- are gradually fading to black, as VHS and LaserDisc did before them. Movie studios have seen this coming for some time. Problem is, it's part of a bigger trend they may not be able to overcome.
Verizon and Coinstar are joining forces in a new Internet streaming video venture built around Redbox's DVD-rental kiosks. Details are sketchy so far, but it will bundle streaming and DVDs, and it'll probably cost less than dominant player Netflix's service.
The boneheaded move of the week was committed by financial journalists, who collectively decided to blame Netflix's recent price hike for its reduction in subscriber targets -- a bad call indeed. Other head-scratchers included the end of boastful Fidelity Magellan chief Harry Lange's tenure, Cracker Barrel's attempts to evade Biglari Holdings, and Restoration Hardware's IPO.
