Yahoo Finance SONY's Subsidiary SPE Buys Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Chain
Sony Group Corporation’s SONY subsidiary SONY Pictures Entertainment (SPE) acquired Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinema theatrical exhibitor. The financial terms of the deal have not been divulged.
Established in 1997 in Austin, TX, Alamo Drafthouse, a dine-in cinema chain, is ranked as North America’s 7th largest theater chain and hosts about 10 million guests annually. It has a four-million-strong loyalty member base. Alamo is owned by its co-founder, Tim League, along with Altamont Capital Partners and Fortress Investment Group.
Alamo will be managed within SPE under a recently created division, Sony Pictures Experiences. Michael Kustermann, CEO of Alamo, will remain at the helm of the theater chain and also lead the Sony Pictures Experiences unit. He will report to Ravi Ahuja, president and COO of SPE.
The theater chain will continue to operate all of its 35 cinemas spread across 25 metro areas under the Alamo Drafthouse brand. Post acquisition, Alamo’s headquarters will remain in Austin.
Sony Corporation Price and Consensus
Sony Corporation price-consensus-chart | Sony Corporation Quote
Alamo witnessed a 30% year-over-year surge in box office revenues in the last year. This came in “ahead of the industry at large”, highlighted the companies in a joint statement.
SPE highlighted that its Crunchyroll business fits well with the interest of Alamo’s audience. The company acquired Crunchyroll, a leading anime direct-to-consumer service, in 2021 from AT&T through Funimation Global Group, LLC.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, SONY is a multinational conglomerate corporation. Its subsidiary, SPE, oversees television and motion picture production, acquisition and distribution, along with the development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. SPE also encompasses television networks, digital content creation and the operation of studio facilities.
The subsidiary owns Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films, TriStar Pictures, 3000 Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, AFFIRM Films, Sony Pictures International Productions and Sony Pictures Classics either completely or through joint ventures.
At present, SONY carries a Zacks Rank #3(Hold). Shares have lost 15.9% of their value compared with the sub-industry’s decline of 15.5% in the past year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stocks to Consider
Better-ranked stocks worth consideration in the broader technology space are Badger Meter BMI, Arista Networks ANET and Woodward Inc WWD, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMI’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $3.89, up 9.9% in the past 60 days. BMI’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 12.7%. The long-term earnings growth rate is 15.6%. Shares of BMI have risen 25.9% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arista Network’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $7.92, up 5.7% in the past 60 days. The long-term earnings growth rate is 15.7%. ANET’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 15.4%. Shares of ANET have gained 87.2% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Woodward’s fiscal 2024 EPS has increased 11.4% in the past 60 days to $5.88. WWD earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last four quarters, the average surprise being 26.1%. Shares of WWD have risen 63.7% in the past year.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Woodward, Inc. (WWD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Sony Corporation (SONY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
