The earnings season has been going pretty good so far, and Walt Disney (DIS) will get its chance to impress Wall Street this afternoon when it reports its fiscal first quarter results after the market closes.

Going into this afternoon's report, analysts are expecting to see the company report earnings of $0.56 per share, up from $0.47 during the same period last year.

Continue reading Disney Expected to Post Strong Q1 Results

Disney Expected to Post Strong Q1 Results originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Disney (DIS) recently broke out from a nine-week flat base, with a big expansion in volume," notes technician and breakout specialist Leo Fasciocco.

The editor of Ticker Tape Digest explains, "Although one needs to be patient with this stock, its recent push to a 10-year high is very bullish. Technically, it means there is no overhead resistance.

"This big cap play, with annual revenues of $38.1 billion, is most suitable for conservative investors. This is also a stock that could attract buying from big mutual funds.

Continue reading Disney (DIS): 'Picture Perfect' Breakout

Disney (DIS): 'Picture Perfect' Breakout originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What has Blackstone (NYSE: BX) been doing with all those theme parks it's been buying? Well, the answer is becoming a bit clearer now. The private equity firm is getting ready to take theme park operator Merlin Entertainments public early next year.

Several investment banks have already been called to advise on the transaction, including Citigroup (NYSE: C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), UBS (NYSE: UBS), and Nomura (NYSE: NMR). If all goes as planned, the deal could be good for $3.33 billion.

Continue reading Will Blackstone make magic with Merlin?

Will Blackstone make magic with Merlin? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the U.S., the prevailing sentiment is that the consumer is tapped out. And, even for those that have money, there will continue to be a good deal of frugality.

So, it would seem that theme parks would suffer, right?

Perhaps not. This is the thinking of Stephen Schwarzman, who is the chief of the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX). Interestingly enough, he's doubling down on theme park investments, according to Reuters.com.

Continue reading Blackstone: Piles to be made from theme parks?

Blackstone: Piles to be made from theme parks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) reported its fiscal third quarter earnings Thursday afternoon and, as expected, it was a tough quarter for the entertainment conglomerate.

We noted in our earnings preview that analysts were expecting to see lower profit, and that is exactly what Disney did this afternoon, reporting a 26% dip in quarterly profit.

The company matched analyst estimates by posting 51 cents per share for its fiscal third quarter ended June 30.

Continue reading Disney profit drops by 26%

Disney profit drops by 26% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This afternoon,the Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) is going to be reporting its fiscal third quarter earnings.

Analysts are expecting to see the company hit hard by the current recession, with all segments of the company's business have felt the impact.

Continue reading Disney's third-quarter earnings expected to decline

Disney's third-quarter earnings expected to decline originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over the weekend, Six Flags Inc. (OTC: SIXF) announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (cue sad-trombone noise here). The company was saddled with $2.4 billion in debt and is taking this opportunity for a fresh start. None of the company's 20 parks -- located throughout North America -- will be closed. All Six Flags employees still have jobs, as well, so potential patrons should not feel as though corners are being cut.

Six Flags spokeswoman Sandra Daniels told the press that "This restructuring will have no impact on families who come out to our parks."

Continue reading Six Flags bankrupt, but the rides will go on

Six Flags bankrupt, but the rides will go on originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Disney (NYSE: DIS), a media company that competes with Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, is famous for having several happy theme parks. The branding always centers on the "Disney magic." But there isn't any magic for employees who will be getting the boot.

According to news reports from last week, the theme-parks division will be streamlined, and buyout offers to 600 employees have been made. New attractions might be delayed. In addition, ABC made some cuts (200 jobs gone, in fact) and combined its studio and programming units. Also, ESPN instituted a hiring freeze.

Continue reading Disney makes some cuts as recession ruins the magic

Disney makes some cuts as recession ruins the magic originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Get ready, Mouse fans. Disney (NYSE: DIS) will be letting Wall Street know this Thursday if its fourth quarter was a good one or not. A lot of eyes will be on the company. Shareholders will want to know the outlook for the theme parks and how the advertising marketplace is treating the company's media holdings. So far, things haven't been too bad at Disney, but many on Wall Street are expecting the recession is to catch up to the company. I expect this myself. So I'll be perusing the conference-call transcript for such items as guest spending at the parks and the quality of the scatter advertising market at ABC. I'll also be keeping my eye out for comments about the consumer-products segment and the company's investments in the video-game division. Disney is spending a lot on the latter, and I think shareholders need to have an idea of how the portfolio of games to be released during the holiday season is expected to perform. In terms of the former, I want to know if the Disney brand is working its magic in the retail channels.

In terms of the bottom line, Earnings.com says that income should be about $0.49 per share. That would represent growth of roughly 17%. I'd be happy with that double-digit number. And I'm pretty sure that estimates will be beat by a penny or two, knowing the company's reputation. But as a shareholder, I tend to be more interested in the cash-flow statement. I like to see how much free cash has been generated, and how the company is using it. In fact, we'll get the cash-flow number for the last twelve months this Thursday. I'll want to see how many shares have been repurchased, and I'll be interested in attempting to gauge what the next dividend increase is likely to be. Disney likes to take shares back as a way of rewarding shareholders, but management really needs to do a better job with the dividend, as I think it could be higher. I would expect that Disney will deliver a decent cash-flow statement.

And how are the Disney Channel franchises faring? Is Hannah Montana wearing out her welcome? Somehow, I don't think that will be the case; someday soon, sure, but not just now. And will the next High School Musical movie be released on the big screen with a new cast? I would appreciate one of the analysts out there inquiring about that. The whole Disney-Channel-incubator thing has been a powerful force for both the company and the brand, and I'm sure CEO Bob Iger will be crowing about it. But I'd love to know what his spreadsheets are saying about the longevity at this point for the current franchises. Will Disney know when it's time to sell out of one fad and invest in another? For that matter, how are the Jonas Brothers doing? We do hear about them, but they don't have the same iconic value of a Miley Cyrus, do they? They don't to me, at least, but maybe I'm just out of the loop. Iger should explain what plans the company has to turn them into the next truly big thing.

Continue reading Earnings preview: Will Disney resist the recession?

Earnings preview: Will Disney resist the recession? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Disney caught my eye a year ago when I labeled it a "slacker stock" because it was such an underachiever. The shares have barely budged this year, moving down about 3%, which in the current market is not bad. Moreover, Disney is outperforming peers such as Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) and Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), both of which are down double digits. The stock is trading at forward multiple of 13, which appears cheap to me considering it's lower than Time Warner and unlike Viacom pays a dividend.

Continue reading Why I took a chance on Disney

Why I took a chance on Disney originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Companies dependent on consumer spending have been under a cloud on Wall Street," cautions Chuck Carlson, the industry's leading expert on dividend reinvestment plans.

"However, Disney (NYSE: DIS) is one of those consumer-dependent stocks where conventional wisdom may not be correct," he adds in his The DRIP Investor.

"With $4-per-gallon gasoline, one would think that the high cost of travel would take some steam out of the firm's theme park attendance. However, recent results on this front were decent, and the firm's other businesses have held up, too.

"To be sure, a prolonged recession would impact business. Still, Disney has done a nice job of positioning its theme parks as an affordable vacation for families, and that should help it continue to weather
economic weakness.

"Disney surprised Wall Street with the resiliency of its theme-park and resort business in the fiscal second quarter. Revenue for the unit jumped 11% in the quarter. Results were aided by a boost in international visitors taking advantage of the weak dollar.

Continue reading Disney (DIS): Resiliency and value

Disney (DIS): Resiliency and value originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Disney's world is starting to look wonderful again

Disney's world is starting to look wonderful again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), along with the other media conglomerates, have been pummeled this year amid concerns about slowing advertising sales and the Hollywood writers' strike. Though the declines are understandable for other companies, such as Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), they are overblown in the case of the house built by Mickey.

For one thing, the weak dollar makes Disney's resorts, particularly Florida's Walt Disney World, attractive for visitors from overseas. About 2.7 million of the 45.1 million in visitors to the Orlando area -- where Disney World is based -- come from overseas. About 53% of them came from Western Europe and 26% came from Canada, according to the Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau. It would stand to reason that some of the drop off in domestic visitors could be made up from people from outside the U.S.

Continue reading Wish upon a star for Disney's earnings?

Wish upon a star for Disney's earnings? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) CFO Keith Sherin defended his company's continued holding of NBC Universal and gave the media conglomerate a surprisingly high valuation of between $40 billion and $45 billion.

GE has been getting plenty of flack about holding on to NBC since it is not #1 or #2 in its market, as previous CEO Jack Welch would have wanted it to be. Sherin pointed out during a lunch meeting with me, my fellow blogger Jon Ogg and a few other writers that NBC is "priceless waterfront property." Sherin argued that Welch had picked up NBC from RCA at a relatively low price -- increasing its value from $3 billion to $10 billion. And in 2004, after forming NBC Universal with Vivendi Universal, the new entity was worth $32 billion. Sherin now estimates that NBC Universal is worth between $40 billion and $45 billion, although I am not sure I understand how he arrived at this figure.

Continue reading BloggingStocks Interview: GE CFO talks up NBC Universal

BloggingStocks Interview: GE CFO talks up NBC Universal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.

Cedar Fair, LP (NYSE: FUN) is the top conservative stock pick for 2007 from Sy Harding, editor of Street Smart Report. He explains, "With its recent $1.2 billion acquisition of Paramount Parks from CBS Corp., Cedar Fair now operates 17 popular regional theme parks, and five water parks, in 13 states in the U.S. and one province of Canada.

"Cedar Fair is noted for exciting rides, with roller coaster enthusiasts traveling the Cedar Fair circuit on a regular basis to check out the latest offerings. For instance, its Cedar Point Park in Ohio now offers 65 rides and 16 roller coasters, including Top Thrill Dragster, the world's tallest and fastest coaster, and Millennium Force, the world's top-rated coaster for thrills.

"Thrill rides for the brave, water slides, wave action pools, and the like, are only a portion of the magnetism for customers. The parks are family oriented, with attractions for smaller children themed around the 'Peanuts' comic strip characters, and a variety of upscale hotels and restaurants for parents.

Continue reading Top Picks 2007: Fun at the fair with Sy Harding

Top Picks 2007: Fun at the fair with Sy Harding originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 30 Dec 2006 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.