Holiday Outlook: Consumer Electronics To Outperform, GoPro Could Be A 'Dark Horse Dumping Sand From Its Bag'

According to a recent Consumer Technology Association (CTA) report, consumer technology products are expected to see a 2 percent increase in sales this holiday season, quite in line with the growth witnessed over the year.

Breaking down the market, analysts at Detwiler Fenton saw “laptops/PCs continuing to trail off in the mid-single digits,” and tablet sales down around 20 percent.

On the other hand, they pointed out an increase in smartphones sales (which are still moderating), gaming consoles sales, higher-end TV sales and a surge in some other smaller categories, including bluetooth speakers, action cameras, drones and fitness bands.

Positive Names In The Space

Overall, the analysts noted that, for the upcoming holiday season, they like Best Buy Co Inc BBY “as a positive outlier benefitting from 4KTV for Holiday” and GoPro “as a potential dark horse dumping sand from its bag as the cycle unfolds.”

The experts also pointed out that Logitech International SA (USA) LOGI might enjoy more tailwinds than they had initially projected, and that Skullcandy Inc SKUL is in an exciting position.

The report continued to explain that the firm believes most of the growth in the category will be driven through e-commerce channels, with 20 percent of this being mobile, up from about 14 percent in 2014. Both these trends clearly benefit Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, as well as other e-tailers with strong market positions.

Names Carrying A Bit Of Doubt

On the contrary, the analysts have “more questions” for others like hhgregg, Inc. HGG and GameStop Corp. GME.

“Retailers in general are feeling pressure of late, and we're expecting a promotional bloodbath this season; but we've heard from checks around the market that Consumer Electronics will be front and center in the offers and is being viewed once again as a key category to drive traffic and demand,” Arnold concluded.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.