Following a flat August performance, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose 3.4% in September, easily beating the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which fell 0.9% in the month. The stock prices of 15 companies on the PWSI rose in September, with share prices falling at only six. The biggest winner in the month was Hastings Entertainment, which rebounded from two down months to post a 20.8% increase in its stock price in September. Books-A-Million's announcement that it was lowering earnings expectations for the year because of hurricane damage to some stores did not bother investors, who bid up the chain's share price by 15.6% last month. The biggest loser in September was Advanced Marketing Services,.which had a 13.2% decline in its stock due in part to the first charges filed in the investigations into its advertising practices.
| COMPANY | AUGUST 31 | SEPTEMBER 30 | % CHANGE |
| Source: Reed Business Information | |||
| Winners | |||
| Hastings Entertainment | 6.30 | 7.61 | 20.8% |
| Books-A-Million | 6.93 | 8.01 | 15.6 |
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 11.50 | 12.77 | 11.0 |
| Barnes & Noble | 34.56 | 37.00 | 7.1 |
| Amazon.com | 38.14 | 40.86 | 7.1 |
| Losers | |||
| Advanced Marketing Services | 12.43 | 10.79 | -13.2% |
| Pearson | 11.27 | 10.83 | -3.9 |
| Franklin Electronic Publishing | 4.03 | 3.88 | -3.7 |
| Reed Elsevier | 36.05 | 35.51 | -1.5 |
| Marvel Enterprises | 14.67 | 14.56 | -0.7 |
| Publishers Weekly | |||
| Stock Index | 499.53 | 516.80 | 3.4% |
| Dow Jones Average | 10,173.92 | 10,080.27 | -0.9% |
