*By Michael Teich*
High-flying gaming headset maker Turtle Beach could find itself a buyer in Microsoft.
That's according to D.A. Davidson senior research analyst Tom Forte, who told Cheddar the company could be an acquisition target as the Xbox-maker angles to become a bigger player in the video game world.
"I would argue Microsoft could just as well buy Turtle Beach rather than try to come up with Microsoft's own lineup of console headsets," Forte said. "Their sweet spot is really the console, and not necessarily the accessories."
While Forte believes Microsoft ($MSFT) has cachet with esports gamers thanks to the Xbox, he thinks the challenge would ultimately be to create a headset that is technologically superior to what Turtle Beach ($HEAR) offers.
Even high-end audio companies like Beats, owned by Apple ($AAPL), have trouble breaking into the esports business.
"No disrespect to Beats, but this isn't really about marketing dollars. It's about who's offering me the best technology so I can play the games I like as effective as possible," Forte said.
Turtle Beach makes headsets for a variety of consoles, including PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
Shares have soared this year, fueled by the viral popularity of social games like mega-hit "Fortnite," which posted a new record monthly player count of 78 million in August. And though the stock has pulled back from its highs of early August, they're still up more than 1,000 percent in 2018.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/microsoft-could-buy-turtle-beach-says-analyst-tom-forte).
Darden, the parent company of chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, beat Wall Street estimates in its latest earnings report.
A former Facebook executive pled guilty to stealing more than $4 million from the company while she was employed there.
Rising safety concerns over water bead products marketed to kids have prompted major retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart to pull some toys off their shelves.
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into 2025, according to updated economic projections for the next two years.
Intel is out with a new product to challenge other big players in the space like Nvidia and AMD.
Stocks fell after the opening bell Friday but will end on another positive week.
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Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dropped below 7% to its lowest level since early August, another boost for prospective homebuyers who have largely been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.
Mortgage rates have dropped below 7% for the first time since the middle of August.
