Why SpongeBob SquarePants is my hero

Author: Yale Bock, Y H & C Investments

Covestor models: Concentrated GARP, Long Term GARP

Disclosure: Long GIGM, DGI, CLGX, CASS, DLB, JMBA

The Concentrated GARP portfolio saw some encouraging news this month as Corelogic (CLGX), Digital Global (DGI) and Cass Information Systems (CASS) all reported better-than-expected earnings. Jamba Juice (JMBA), GigaMedia  (GIGM), and Dolby Labs (DLB) will report later this month.

GigaMedia’s management reported on their initiatives to reduce cash burn. (Here is a link to the Gigamedia Productivity Initiatives.)

As I stated last month, the main reason I continue to believe this is a company worth owning is its half ownership and development of a massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMPORG) game with Viacom’s (VIA) MTV network for Spongebob SquarePants.

GigaMedia has the rights to the properties outside of the United States. If you ever look at cable ratings for television programs, SpongeBob is consistently in the top 20. It has massive popularity worldwide, and 2012 should be the year when the game is released.

If it has any kind of success globally, that property could become very lucrative for GIGM. The cash on hand and a new CEO who can make the Asian gaming business profitable would change things dramatically, especially if the SpongeBob game proves popular.