Investor Beat, Feb. 26, 2014

DreamWorks Animation 's fourth-quarter earnings came in lower than expected, with its movie Turbo taking the blame. Despite pulling in $280 million internationally, the cost to produce the film meant that just wasn't enough. And with the stock up more than 100% in the past year, the market will look poorly on any earnings miss.

In the lead story from Wednesday's Investor Beat, host Chris Hill and Motley Fool analyst Bill Barker look at DreamWorks over the past year, and what it has moving ahead. While Chris is less than optimistic that its next feature, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, will be a game-changer for the company, Bill notes that this game is more about expectations than performance.

Then, food industry equipment company Middleby hit an all-time high today after the company announced in its Q4 earnings report that profits were up 36%, and revenue was up nearly 40%. Bill notes that the addressable market for the company is enormous and continuing to grow both domestically and internationally, and the guys also discuss the company's incredible execution of its growth-by-acquisition strategy over the years. While an all-time high may look intimidating for investors, Bill still sees the possibility of another 10-year run for the company that could be just as impressive as its past 10 years.

Also, fourth-quarter profits came in lower than expected for Boston Beer, and the company lowered guidance as well, but the market didn't react nearly as badly as it could have. Bill looks behind the scenes and points to one of the best problems a company can have -- more demand than it was able to easily meet. He discusses the company's strategy, whereby, instead of just leaving demand unmet, it spent a bit extra to meet demand, even if there were some inefficiencies along the way.

And finally, Bill discusses TRI Pointe Homes and tells investors why this California-based homebuilder is lighting up on his radar this week.

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The article Investor Beat, Feb. 26, 2014 originally appeared on Fool.com.

Bill Barker and Chris Hill have no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Boston Beer, DreamWorks Animation, and Middleby and owns shares of Boston Beer and Middleby. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't 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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