From McMuffins To Mobile: Tracking Olympic Sponsors With TD Ameritrade's JJ Kinahan

Here is an interesting new concept: The TD Ameritrade Olympic Sponsors Index tracks the performances of many of the major companies that are involved in sponsoring the Olympics game.

Benzinga had a chance to chat with TD Ameritrade Chief Market Strategist Joe "JJ" Kinahan and discuss the index.

Kinahan told Benzinga the index is weighted by market cap with the usual suspects, such as General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE: PG) having disproportionate representation.

However, in terms of percentage winners, apparel and sporting good names such as Dicks Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE: DKS) are proving to be the clear winners.

"USA starts doing well, you go out and you buy the hat or the sweatshirt," he explained. "Overall most companies have done fairly well, but the initial beneficiaries of this have been the apparel companies."

Related Link: Under Armour And Nike see Increase In Consumer Mindshare Due To Olympics

On the other hand, hotel sponsors are unlikely to benefit in the same manner. He pointed out that sports fans will find it much easier to "go out and buy a hat," but "you might not go out and book a room." This could change over a longer-term period as Olympic sponsors, such as Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE: HLT), could resonate with consumers who associate the hotel chain with the Olympics.

Kinahan added that the "biggest mover" has been Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE: RL) — the official outfitter of the opening and closing ceremonies. He did, however, caution that it is not necessarily fair to attribute Ralph Lauren's 13 percent gain since the start of the Olympics to its involvement in the games, as the company did report an excellent earnings print.

Ralph Lauren's uniform designs are still "cool" and represents "one of the reasons" the stock continues to trade higher.

McDonald's Versus Coca-Cola

Kinahan also pointed out an interesting observation involving two heavyweight global titans.

Since the Olympics started, shares of The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) have gained around 1.5 percent while shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) have actually fallen by around 1.75 percent.

Kinahan did point that Coca-Cola has done "well" in advertising itself "in a different light," which better positions itself against the trend of consumers "shunning" soft drinks.

Bottom line, Kinahan concluded that the index is a "fun" way to take a closer look at companies involved in special events and presents investors with stocks to follow.

Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!