EA Games has been dropped from the NASDAQ 100, a stock market index of the top 100 non-financial businesses that feature on the NASDAQ stock exchange, with other large firms Netflix and RIM also falling from grave. However, as some leave others must take their place and Facebook and Western Digital have both become part of the coveted 100 list.
According to MCVUK, since the middle of this year, EA has seen a big reduction in share price, almost 50 per cent as 2012 comes to a close. Much of the blame is being placed on Star Wars: The Old Republic sales and subscriptions, which failed to reach the suspected targets.
As part of the announcement for the changing of the guard in the NASDAQ 100, executive of the organisation, John Jacobs said: “Since its inception, the NASDAQ-100 Index has evolved into a world-renowned brand that includes the 100 largest non-financial stocks listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market.”
“The securities being added to the NASDAQ-100 Index will join Facebook, Costco, Apple, Google and other household names that are leading the new economy forward. Our objective re-ranking process ensures the NASDAQ-100 remains a relevant investable index that is the underlying benchmark for about 7,100 products in 22 countries with a notional value of about $1 trillion.”
EA isn't the only company to have suffered stock problems in 2012. Other publishing giant THQ struggled to stay afloat altogether, with its stock price dropping below $1 at certain points of the year, thereby making its future as part of the exchange uncertain.
KitGuru Says: Despite this news, it seems unlikely that EA will fall too far from grace, its bump to public image for taking on Zynga and its continued success with sports franchises should mean it's fine for the foreseeable future.