Alcoa (DOG)
AA - NYSE
Try to go a day without aluminum. Just try. No aluminum foil. No beverages in aluminum cans. No checking your aluminum-containing smartphone while standing on an aluminum ladder, which is how my buddy Dave ended up in the hospital. Alcoa investors probably wish they’d stayed away from aluminum. Shares of the largest U.S. aluminum producer plunged after the chief financial officer warned that the period ended Sept. 30 will be a “tougher quarter” because of weak metals prices and “stubbornly high” costs for raw materials and energy. Aluminum – it’s everywhere, and it can hurt you.
DIRTT Environmental Solutions (DOG)
DRT - TSX
With a name like DIRTT Environmental Solutions, you might think the company specializes in landscape design or toxic soil remediation. But you would be wrong. The Calgary-based company designs and manufactures building interiors, and its name is short for Doing It Right This Time. Unfortunately, the stock’s been doing it wrong since July after the company posted a second-quarter loss that nearly doubled to US$19.3-million. With DIRTT recently suspending operations at a manufacturing facility in South Carolina amid softening demand, the only dirt is on investors’ faces.
Bowlero (STAR)
BOWL - NYSE
What did I miss most during the pandemic? I would have to say bowling. The ill-fitting shoes, the gutter balls, the manager asking me to please not walk halfway down the lane before releasing my ball – these are all part of the romance and pleasure of bowling. Here’s the good news: Bowling is back, baby! Revenue at Bowlero, which operates more than 300 bowling centres across North America, jumped about 68 per cent to US$267.7-million in the quarter ended July 3. Even more impressive, revenue was up about 72 per cent relative to pre-pandemic levels. That sound you hear is investors bowling a strike.
Adobe Systems (DOG)
ADBE - Nasdaq
Business quiz! Shares of Adobe suffered their biggest drop since 2010 after: a) Russian hackers inserted dozens of pictures of a bare-chested Vladimir Putin into the company’s stock photo library in retaliation for its support of Ukraine; b) Adobe slashed the price of its Creative Cloud software “because our customers are telling us that they can achieve just as good results, at a fraction of the cost, by using a pack of coloured pencils and some paper”; c) the company agreed to acquire design software firm Figma for about US$20-billion in cash and shares – a price the market considered excessive. Answer: c.
WildBrain (DOG)
WILD - TSX
Children love watching WildBrain’s programs, which feature familiar characters such as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Inspector Gadget and Strawberry Shortcake. But mom and dad can’t be too happy about the stock price. Shares of the Vancouver-based children’s entertainment company slipped after fiscal fourth-quarter revenue topped estimates but earnings a share and free cash flow missed expectations, prompting several analysts to cut their price targets on the stock. Rumours circulating on Reddit that Tinky Winky and Laa-Laa have been shorting the stock were denied by the company.
John Heinzl