In Tale of Two Bookstore Stocks, Digital Strategy Sets One Apart

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The controlling shareholder of Books-A-Million of Birmingham, Alabama, offered to take the company private, valuing the 257-store chain at just $49 million. The news pushed Books-A-Million shares up 25% to $3.19 in 4 p.m. trading, returning them to where they were a few weeks ago. Barnes & Noble stock surged 52% on the Microsoft news to close at $20.75, its highest level in nearly two years. The run-up lifted the company's market capitalization to $1.4 billion. The difference between the two companies is simple: Barnes & Noble has a robust digital business, with the Nook e-reader and e-book store, which has a 27% share of the U.S. market. Books-A-Million doesn't, and instead is a pure play in the declining business of physical books. The retailer offers books on its website as well as through its stores and also sells the Nook.


In Tale of Two Bookstore Stocks, Digital Strategy Sets One Apart