For every company to make money somebody must sell their goods and services. The company can do and make very needed things, but somehow they must be sold. For manufacturers it is often easier to have distributors sell their product and the company can concentrate on the next improvement. For Hasbro which has been around for many years, the biggest seller of their toys was Toys “R” Us and for many years this has been a very good relationship. It was reported by Nivedita Balu of Reuters,  Hasbro reported nearly $100 million less than expected because of the bankruptcy of Toys”R” Us. The good news is the company has found ways to grow margins by 2019 and is expected to  generate between $600 and $700 million in operating cash flow for the year. One of the strategies is to ensure their toys are in Disney and Marvel movies and this year there are 6 major releases.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, every company eventually becomes dependent on others and that is a good thing until it is not. It is the reason in large organizations there is someone worried and makes plans if things do not go correctly, what should the company do? how does the company adjust and how long should it take? It is easier to adjust if their are plans on how to adjust. As you look at your investment in companies see who they are dependent upon and how could they adjust if something goes off for a quarter or two.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.