Ford (F, Financial) and Glu Mobile (GLUU, Financial) are moving at a good pace in 2014. Both companies have delivered on investors' faith this year, and it looks like the trend will continue in the future. Let's see why both companies will continue outperforming going forward.
Ford's impressive moves
Ford has entered into an agreement with MIT and Stanford University for new automated driving research projects, coupled with the expansion of its Research and Engineering Center in Nanjing, China. And finally, it increased its quarterly dividend by 25% in January which is the second increase since restoring the dividend in January of 2012.
Ford projects global economic growth to be in the 2.5% to 3% range and global industry sales to be about 85 million to 90 million units. U.S. economic growth is projected to be in the 2.5% to 3% range, with industry sales driven by replacement demand as a result of the older age of vehicles on the road.
The economic recovery for Europe is under way and the GDP growth of about 1% is expected in the euro area and 2% to 2.5% in the U.K. for 2014. In Asia-Pacific, the economic growth for China is expected to be slightly below 7.5% with several challenges, including excess capacity and excess debt.
Despite several challenges in emerging markets, the global economic growth is expected to continue in 2014 with growth in India expected to improve modestly to about 5% from last year. Ford continues to expect full year industry volume to be in the range of 16 million to 17 million units in the U.S. and China to lie in the range of 22.5 million to 24.5 million units. The improved economic growth prospects and replacement demand enables Ford to now expect Europe 20 markets to be in the 14 million to 15 million unit range.
Overall, 2014 is expected to be a solid year for the Ford Motor Company in a critical next step forward and implementing its One Ford plan to continue delivering profitable growth for all.
The One Ford plan is built on a compelling vision, comprehensive strategy and relentless implementation, and it continues to deliver profitable growth around the world, and the Ford management is absolutely focused on building great products, creating a stronger business and contributing to a better world.
However, Ford witnessed an expected domestic market share decline because of its comparatively older product line. Therefore, the company is gearing up to launch a series of new vehicles this year to address the problem.
Glu's smart moves
Glu plans to use new shelf filing equally prudently and judiciously with the continued sharp focus on accretion and downside protection for any acquisition it makes. Deals such as PlayFirst acquisition as well as its transactions to acquire the Deer Hunter IP, Seattle and Toronto studios and games by technologies have all added tremendous enterprise value to the company.
2014 is proving to be the biggest and most profitable year in Glu’s history. Further, 2015 is believed to be considerably and optimistically bigger with the next installment of the Deer Hunter franchise as well as with the launch of James Bond title.
At present, Glu has excellent monetization, user acquisition, unexpected retention and core game play development all institutionally stronger than ever. Both the 2015 Deer Hunter and 007 games are believed to possess uniquely strong name recognition and differentiated core game play.
Eternity Warriors 2 and Eternity Warriors 3 have demonstrated that Glu is delivering on the game business service gas strategy promised last year. Several more titles with the longer tails, ongoing live updates and social competitive features that have carried Deer Hunter 2014 and Eternity Warriors 3 to success are expected to show up by the end of the year.
Going forward, there’s a very bright outlook for Glu. There’s a strong release slate for the second half of the year that includes several of its top franchises, Contract Killer 3, a followup to the Frontline Commando D-Day franchise and a reboot to our Blood and Glory IP. Dino Hunter Deadly Shores a new title off the Deer Hunter engine takes hunting to exotic new locations with extreme new weaponry.
With mobile gaming industry gaining maturity Glu’s revenue will increasingly be driven by its largest and most successful titles.
Glu is primarily focusing on investing in infrastructure for this year. It has some ambitious tools in infrastructure road map for 2014 and believes to be investing in the right technology to drive growth in its business.
Conclusion
Hence, both companies are making positive moves to tap growth in the long run. As such, investors should continue holding both Ford and Glu Mobile in their portfolios.
