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.

• Media Networks revenue for the quarter increased 8% to $4.1 billion and segment operating income increased 9% to $1.5 billion helped by growth at ESPN and the Disney Chanel.
  
• Parks and Resorts revenue increased 5% to $3.0 billion and segment operating income increased 3% to $641 million amid higher ticket prices and guest spending at Walt Disney World.
• Studio entertainment and consumer products showed declines amid lower box office receipts and the disappointing performance of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

Disney defies skeptics originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to the Associated Press, mighty mouse Disney (NYSE: DIS) wants in on the American Idol action. I don't blame the company one bit -- even though I'm not a huge Idol fan, and thought that the fad might wear out by now, there's no question that hooking up with the equity tied to this incredible broadcast brand is a good strategic move.

Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park plans on hatching an attraction that will allow guests the opportunity to audition in a park stage. There probably will be several shows during the day, and the guests who perform in them will receive some sort of evaluation, although I hope there won't be any evil Simon-like judges handing out the critiques; in fact, the Associated Press article indicates that the judges might actually be members selected from the actual show audience.

I honestly see this as a great value-added to the Disney theme-park experience. And the cool thing is that Disney gets exposure to the success of American Idol even though its arch competitor, News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), obviously derives the most benefit by programming the show as a part of Fox Broadcast's portfolio. It's also a great way to make up for past mistakes -- ABC apparently could have had Idol on its schedule if it had wanted to, according to this past article from the Motley Fool. No matter, Disney can now make amends by thrilling its tourists with the fantasy of Hollywood and its tinsel fame. And, in case you were wondering, Disney didn't need to get Fox's permission to do this; all it had to do was negotiate with 19 Entertainment and FreemantleMedia, the entities behind Idol. Kind of a neat trick, huh?

Disney guests to become 'American Idols' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Disney beats Wall Street estimates easily originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:42:00 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.

Time Warner, down 18% this year, trades, at a multiple of 18. Disney, whose shares are little changed, is trading a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 17. News Corp., also little changed, is the most richly valued of the bunch with a forward p/e of 20. All three of them report earnings this week. To put it diplomatically, expectations are low. Disney is probably the most compelling value there because of strong brands and top-flight management.

Revenue at Time Warner is expected to be $1.41 billion, up 14.8% according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Earnings are expected to be 11 cents compared with 19 cents a year earlier. The stock rose today after the company announced that Jeff Bewkes would replace Richard Parsons as CEO starting next year. Don't expect any big changes at AOL, though. The strategy to turn around the Internet unit was developed by Bewkes. The company will come under pressure to divest AOL and other businesses including publishing. Earnings are due Wednesday.

Disney reports Thursday. Analysts aren't expecting much out of the Mouse House. Revenue is expected to inch up 2.2% to $8.98 billion. Earnings are expected at 41 cents versus 36 cents a year earlier. With the record-low dollar, the company's Theme Parks are dirt-cheap for foreign tourists. Earnings also should be helped by the "High School Musical" franchise and a solid performance by the ABC Television network.

There will be plenty of talk about the acquisition of Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ) on Thursday's News Corp. earnings conference call. There will also be discussion about the surging popularity of Facebook. Though so far the Fox Business Network has underwhelmed critics, Murdoch will no doubt put a positive spin on the channel's debut. Revenue for the quarter is expected to increase 9.6% to $6.48 billion. Earnings are pegged at 23 cents versus 19 cents a year earlier.

Time to buy media stocks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Disney (NYSE: DIS) is planning to open a resort in Hawaii [subscription required]. While its 21 acres of hotels and villas seem large by most standards, it is no where near the scale of the company's big theme parks. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Disney's theme-park operation has been hatching plans to expand its reach by building smaller attractions and resorts."

Disney already has a cruise ship business. Building its large theme parks has been expensive, although they bring in huge sums of money. According to the company 10-Q, the theme park business did $2.9 billion in revenue during the June quarter.

And, that is Disney's dilemma. A big theme park is expensive to build and operate, but the revenue potential clearly reaches into the billions of dollars. Projects like the one in Hawaii may be less expensive to open, but how much money can they bring the company? Even if the company has a dozen of them, the impact is likely to be fairly modest.

Management resources end up being an issue as well. Taking top talent to oversee a large park location that brings in hundreds of millions of dollars probably is a good use of executive time. Going to Hawaii to supervise a small location may be fun, but it also may be a waste of precious manpower.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Disney (DIS) thinks smaller as it goes to Hawaii originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walt Disney

Walt Disney earnings edge out estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) today reported better-than-expected second quarter results helped by the strong performance from its studio entertainment and television networks businesses.

Net income was $931 million, or 44 cents per share, up 27 percent compared with $737 million, or 37 cents, a year earlier, Revenue rose 1 percent to $8.07 billion. Analysts were expecting profit of 36 cents on revenue of $8.1 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

Will investors have to wish upon a star for better returns? The company should answer these and many other questions in the upcoming conference call. All times are eastern.

4;30- Hold music is catchy, hip and unfamiliar. "High School Musical" maybe? Anyway, I am officially old.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) today reported better-than-expected second quarter results helped by the strong performance from its studio entertainment and television networks businesses.

Net income was $931 million, or 44 cents per share, compared with $737 million, or 37 cents, a year earlier, Revenue rose 1 percent to $8.07 billion. Analysts were expecting profit of 36 cents on revenue of $8.1 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

Will investors have to wish upon a star for better returns? The company should answer these and many other questions in the upcoming conference call. All times are eastern.

4;30- Hold music is catchy, hip and unfamiliar. "High School Musical" maybe? Anyway, I am officially old.

Thomas Skaggs introduces Lowell Singer, the former analyst just named Vp of IR.

Bob Iger,

These results are evident of our ability to nuture great creativity. They also validate strategic vision and quality of Disney management team. On the creative front, this is an exciting time for us. "It is simply great"," he said of Pirates movie. Also lauded Rataoulle. Releasing Blue-Ray version of Pirates movie .

Disney channel continues to deliver. We are capturing the interest of pre-schoolers with Playhouse Disney's MIckey Mouse Club House. There's a new WInnie the Poo show.,

ABC- Solid ahead of upfronts. Current upfront is strong. Among networks, ABC reaches more affluent families.

Disney theme parks are doign well. Consumer products are exceeding expectations. Merchandise for Cars is expected to inrease substantially this year.

Continue reading Live Blogging Disney's second quarter results

Live Blogging Disney's second quarter results originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 May 2007 16:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.