Industry Stocks: October Performances
| Company | September 28 | October 31 | % Change |
| October was a lackluster month for publishing industry stocks, with the Publishers Weekly Stock Index falling by less than 0.1%. Twelve stocks had gains in the month, while the stock price at eight companies fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.6%. The biggest winner in October was Hastings Entertainment, which saw a remarkable turnaround in its stock performance continue in the month by posting a 31% gain to $8.28, a 52-week high. Investors were heartened enough by Amazon.com's third-quarter results and prospects for the fourth quarter to push its stock price up 16.9% in October. While Hastings enjoyed a strong October, Borders Group had the worst month among the companies on the Index, with its stock price down 18.6%. An increase of $2.05 on October 31 following the release of its first quarter results, limited Reader's Digest's stock decline in the month to 3.7%. Source: Cahners Publishing | |||
| Winners | |||
| Hastings Entertainment | 6.32 | 8.28 | 31.0% |
| Amazon.com | 5.97 | 6.98 | 16.9 |
| Courier Corp. | 21.66 | 25.00 | 15.4 |
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 5.10 | 5.74 | 12.5 |
| Pearson | 11.12 | 12.10 | 8.8 |
| Losers | |||
| Borders Group | 19.15 | 15.59 | -18.6% |
| McGraw-Hill Cos. | 58.20 | 52.58 | -9.6 |
| R.R. Donnelley | 27.05 | 25.50 | -5.7 |
| Reader's Digest | 18.39 | 17.70 | -3.7 |
| John Wiley | 20.88 | 20.20 | -3.2 |
| Publishers Weekly | |||
| Stock Index | 334.25 | 333.97 | -0.08% |
| Dow Jones Average | 8,847.56 | 9,075.14 | 2.6% |
