Disney Earnings: Profits Climb, But Investors Sell
By Derek Hoffman | More Articles
August 07, 2012
S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) reported net income above Wall Street’s expectations for the third quarter. Walt Disney is an entertainment company with operations in: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, and consumer products.
Investing Insights: Is TV the Next Bullish Catalyst for Apple’s Stock?
The Walt Disney Company Earnings Cheat Sheet
Results: Net income for the media conglomerate rose to $1.83 billion ($1.01 per share) vs. $1.48 billion (77 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 24.1% from the year-earlier quarter.
Revenue: Rose 3.9% to $11.09 billion from the year-earlier quarter.
Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: The Walt Disney Company beat the mean analyst estimate of 92 cents per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $9.56 billion.
Quoting Management: “We had a phenomenal third quarter, delivering the largest quarterly earnings in the history of our company,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “Earnings per share were up 31% over last year, driven by growth in every one of our businesses. We also delivered record earnings per share for the first nine months of our fiscal year, and we believe our results clearly demonstrate Disney’s unique value proposition and great potential to deliver long-term growth.”
Key Stats:
The company has now seen its net income rise for three quarters in a row. In the second quarter, net income rose 21.3% and in the first quarter, the figure rose 12.4%.
The company has now surpassed analyst estimates for four quarters in a row. It beat the mark by 2 cents in the second quarter, by 9 cents in the first quarter, and by 4 cents in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.
Revenue has increased for four consecutive quarters. Revenue increased 6.1% to $9.63 billion in the second quarter. The figure rose 0.6% in the first quarter from the year earlier and climbed 7% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year from the year-ago quarter.
Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly optimistic about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the fourth quarter has moved up from 68 cents a share to 71 cents over the last ninety days. The average estimate for the fiscal year is $3.01 per share, a rise from $2.95 ninety days ago.
Stocks with improving earnings metrics are worthy of your extra attention. In fact, “E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework for this very reason. Don’t waste another minute — click here and get our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now.
