Kiddies Make for Good Quarterly Earnings

The Apple earnings webcast is later today, and bloggers are waiting everywhere with fingers over keyboards to see if Apple has something better than AT&T to say about iPhone sales in the last quarter. While we’re waiting, it’s worth looking at some of the other recent earnings announcements and what trends they suggest. As a non-econ specialist, I’m struck by one thing: people a lot younger than I am are having a huge impact on tech financials.

Three companies stand out in this trend:

  • pokemon.jpgNintendo had a great quarter, but not only because of the Wii as you might expect. Nintendo DS has two broadly successful new software titles out called “Pokemon Diamond” and “Pokemon Pearl”. I heard about Pokemon Pearl for the first time yesterday from a 5-year-old. In other words, she’s more clued in to one of the top technologies than I am.
  • Amazon’s profit tripled because of Harry Potter sales. No, it’s not only kids reading Harry Potter, but they make up a large portion of the audience. Interestingly, the other thing Amazon credited for its strong financials was its Amazon Prime service: pay a flat annual fee and you get free 2-day shipping.