The Publishers Weekly Stock Index fell 4.0% in September and was down 7.3% for the third quarter. Still, the performance was better than that of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had a 6.0% decline in September and a 12.1% drop for the quarter. Three of the 14 companies on the PWSI managed to post an increase in their stock prices in September, led by the smallest company on the index, Educational Development Corp. Scholastic's share price benefited from an encouraging start to its fiscal year, and Amazon seems poised for another strong holiday season no matter how the economy performs.

Winners

Company Aug. 31 Sept. 30 % Change
Educational Dev. Corp. 5.20 5.31 2.1%
Scholastic 27.76 28.03 1.0
Amazon 215.23 216.23 0.5

Losers

CBS 25.05 20.38 -18.6
Courier Corp. 7.41 6.54 -11.7
Walt Disney Co. 34.07 30.16 -11.5
Barnes & Noble 13.34 11.83 -11.3
Books-A-Million 2.61 2.32 -11.1
Hastings Ent. 3.24 2.90 -10.5
Publishers Weekly
Stock Index 491.02 471.17 -4.0
Dow Jones Aver. 11,613.53 10,913.38 -6.0