The Walt Disney Company released its fiscal third-quarter earnings today, and the results show yet again that the Mouse House is relying more heavily on its theme parks and theatrical releases as its traditionally lucrative TV businesses yield fewer gains.
Here’s how the numbers shook out for Disney’s four main business units:
- Media networks: revenue up 5%. Operating income down 1%.
- Parks & resorts: revenue up 6%. Operating income up 15%.
- Studio entertainment: revenue up 20%. Operating income up 11%.
- Consumer products & interactive: revenue down 8%. Operating income down 10%.
The lift for Studio Entertainment was thanks to the huge success of Incredibles 2 and Avengers: Infinity War, which far outperformed last year’s third-quarter releases, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Cars 3.
But Disney’s cable business continues to struggle, with a 5% decrease in the segment’s operating income. Disney attributed the decline to investments in BAMTech and its poorly performing Freeform network.
Overall, it was a miss for the company. Analysts were expecting earnings per share of $1.95, per a Thomson Reuters estimate cited by CNBC. Disney delivered EPS of $1.87.
We’ll have some analysis after the earnings call. You can see the full numbers here.
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