The Walt Disney Company (DIS) kept its string of moderate positive surprises intact today when it reported fiscal 2nd quarter 2010 earnings after the bell. The household-name media conglomerate brought in net income of $953 million, or 48 cents per share — 6.67% higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 45 cents. Year over year, Disney improved from 43 cents per share.
Disney posted 7% growth in its Studio Entertainment business, citing impressive box office with its big opening of Alice in Wonderland and recently released Iron Man 2’s strong showing (a direct product of Disney’s acquisition of Marvel Entertainment). But while Cable Networks, Parks and Resorts, Consumer Products and Interactive Media all posted gains, its Broadcasting wing, notably ABC Television and ABC Studios, fell 31.7% in the quarter. Drops in primetime and news advertising revenue were to blame, along with rising production costs.
Analysts had been modestly optimistic leading up to the 2Q10 report. Five of 24 analysts covering Disney had raised earnings estimates for the quarter in the past 30 days, though 2 analysts also revised downward. The 45 cents per share expectation had effectively been unchanged for the entire quarter.
Looking out to fiscal 2010 and 2011 (ending September), analysts are apparently a bit more positive. Five analysts had upwardly revised fiscal 2010 numbers in the past month, and 6 analysts have done so for fiscal 2011 over the same time period.
It has been a mixed bag for media conglomerates this earnings season. While Disney rival Time Warner (TWX) beat EPS expectations by 27% last week, Viacom (VIA.B) came up 30% short when it posted earnings in late April.
After climbing 1.33% as of the closing bell today (up 47 cents per share), DIS stock has swung to a 2.66% sell-off (95 cents per share) in after-market trading.
We will provide more in-depth insight on the Disney earnings report prior to the market opening Wednesday.
Read the full analyst report on “DIS”
Read the full analyst report on “TWX”
Read the full analyst report on “VIA.B”
Zacks Investment Research
