Why Hasbro, Inc. Stock Popped Today

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What:Shares ofHasbrowere up 12% as of 3 p.m. Monday after the toy maker announced better-than-expected first-quarter results.

So what: Quarterly revenue grew 5% year over year (or 14% on a constant currency basis) to $713.5 million, which translated to a 16.9% decrease in net earnings to $26.7 million, or $0.21 per diluted share. The latter figure was helped by Hasbro's decision to repurchase 436,000 shares of common stock at a cost of $25.2 million, leaving $539 million available under its current repurchase authorization.

For additional perspective, net earnings would have climbed 43% excluding a $13.5 million (or $0.10-per-share) tax adjustment recognized during the same year-ago quarter. And analysts, on average, were only expecting Hasbro to report earnings of $0.08 per share on significantly lower revenue of $660.3 million.

Now what:"2015 is off to a good start with continued momentum in our business," added Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, "led by growth in all of our Franchise Brands and the underlying strength in demand across international markets, including the emerging markets."

To be sure, Hasbro's franchise brand revenue grew an impressive 20% during the quarter. But Goldner also cautioned the first quarter is the "least significant quarter of the year," so Hasbro still has plenty of work ahead to ensure it sustains this momentum going forward. In the end, though, with so much to like in today's numbers and given the strong start to the year, I can't blame investors for bidding up shares of Hasbro today.

The article Why Hasbro, Inc. Stock Popped Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Hasbro. The Motley Fool owns shares of Hasbro. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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