Walt Disney Company Reports First Quarter Earnings

[Melanie]

See here (http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/quarterly_earnings/2009_q1.pdf) for full press release. :mickey:

[Ian]

Well that's pretty bad ... :ill:

[Polynesian Dweller]

Well that's pretty bad ... :ill:

Yep, and worse than the analysts thought. That's why the cutbacks and the promotions. It will take a while before they come back.

[Ed]

Ooooooo.... that's just flat out ugly. :(

[cgriff]

Interestingly, Disney Parks showed the slimmest decline of the company's lower segments. The cost of doing business in California (Disneyland) is probably a huge factor. And since the company is based there, it bleeds all of the segments to some extent.

[JPL]

Theme Parks showed the least decline simply because they were still riding the wave of people who booked their vacations months ahead of time. Studies show the average vacation is planned and booked 4-6 months before the actual trip. Disney had alot of people locked in before the economic down turn especially at WDW.

[pdrlkr]

:ill:

[grumpyguy]

yup,just checked our stocks...not pretty.we might just postpone our september trip.the experts will tell you,if you have it don't spend it!!:(:ill:

[cgriff]

the experts will tell you,if you have it don't spend it!!

So all of this talk of "stimulus" to try and increase public spending is actually a recipe for disaster, per the experts. I wish these experts would tell the president and congress that, before it's too late.

Meanwhile, I have a Disney trip planned for the summer, already bought and paid for, so it's full-steam ahead as far as I am concerned. Maybe attendance will be lighter and there will be an aura of exclusivity as we tour the parks...

[TheRustyScupper]

So all of this talk of "stimulus" to try and increase public spending is actually a recipe for disaster, per the experts. I wish these experts would tell the president and congress that, before it's too late.

Especially since every homeowner could get $14,000 from the package.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

If you have already been living within your means, and you either have relative job security or enough saved up to ride through any layoff, cutting back on your discretionary spending because your neighbor got laid off will only compound the misery for our overall economy. The world only turns when the money (that's left) is being spent and re-spent.

Now spending money you borrow, that is probably another story right now...

[Scott C]

Well, I can't get the link to work, but if it is basically the same as the article in our local paper-- I feel that this sort of news and its reporting is part of the problem with our corporate society and the country in general. While it is a fact that the profits are down -- Disney still netted almost a billion dollars -- in three months. I sure wish my business had that sort of problem. IF I make a profit every month--I am happy. I would bet that GM and Chrysler would feel the same that I do. How does netting $250,000,000 every month spell gloom and doom. Perhaps I am naive

Thanks
Scott C

[SignguyTom]

yup,just checked our stocks...not pretty.we might just postpone our september trip.the experts will tell you,if you have it don't spend it!!:(:ill:

Actually, this is a recipe for complete economic disaster. Saving money did not cause the downturn. It was caused by spending borrowed money, with no ability to pay it back.

The cure is to spend it if you have it and always buy American...:thumbsup:


My wife & I live barely within our means - basically paycheck to paycheck. We both have steady jobs, with minimal risk of layoff. We just booked a trip to BWV this coming December to use our DVC points. We are saving the money as we go and are on schedule. Maybe it is foolish, but that's the only way we, as a country, are going to rebound from this. :twocents:

[Ian]

How does netting $250,000,000 every month spell gloom and doom.Because you have to weigh it against past performance of the company to determine what it's going to do to the stock price.

If Disney made $3 billionQ1 of last year and $250,000,000 Q1 of this year, that's obviously a significant drop-off that will reduce their dividend payout, share price, etc.

All of those things have a negative effect on the company.

[Crow]

so what should we hope for?
if Disney does bad, that might mean better bargains for our trips
but it might hurt the overall economy and the CMS etc
i do have like 3 shares of Disney stock....that 35 cent dividend check from 1 share is sitting here waiting for me to deposit.
I wasnt going to go to WDW until my sister mentioning me taking the nephews as she trusts me, I know WDW and they need a father figure type right now.
so Im torn. hoping for lighter Easter wk crowds, but dont want the little people getting hurt more w layoffs etc

[CaptainSad]

So all of this talk of "stimulus" to try and increase public spending is actually a recipe for disaster, per the experts. I wish these experts would tell the president and congress that, before it's too late.

Meanwhile, I have a Disney trip planned for the summer, already bought and paid for, so it's full-steam ahead as far as I am concerned. Maybe attendance will be lighter and there will be an aura of exclusivity as we tour the parks...


I hope you don't believe this is what they are calling a stimulus package. This is not going to jump start the economy. This package is filled with pork & earmarks that it is not going to create jobs. Everybody is getting brainwashed. I believe this is a joke and we made a big mistake... If any jobs come out of this it won't be for a year or two...

[princessgirls]

Ughhh... this is terrible news.

The whole state of this economy is very sad and grim.

Jobless people will not be going on vacations.

It's just one big vicious wheel.

Julie:mickey:

[Hammer]

Hey everyone, can we just comment about Disney's earnings? Let's leave discussions of if the stimulus package is a good thing/bad thing to the political discussion boards on other websites. Political discussions on Intercot, as Ian is fond of saying, are a no-no :nono: .

Now, regarding Disney's earnings :sick: . Ian summed it up pretty well. Yes, some divisions of the Disney Corporation made money, but many more divisions lost a lot of money, which meant that the overall financial picture for the company is not good.

As an example, I work for a mammoth cable corporation (you can probably figure out which one by where I live) in their National Engineering and Technical Operations division. If more people downgrade/eliminate cable than increases in people purchasing VOIP or business services, our division will be included in the Cable division as showing a loss. If say that the sports franchises which are also owned by this company show smaller losses, they are still included if the company has to make cutbacks.

[Ian]

Yes, since Disney did not accept any of the TARPS money there's really no valid reason to bring discussions of the stimulus plan into this thread.

We definitely need to keep that conversation off INTERCOT and take it to a political board somewhere.

[Buttercup]

I'm an eternal optimist.
Yes, they experienced a loss... but at least they still earned something and didn't go into the negative. :thumbsup::cloud9:

[DizneeRX]

Yes, since Disney did not accept any of the TARPS money there's really no valid reason to bring discussions of the stimulus plan into this thread.

We definitely need to keep that conversation off INTERCOT and take it to a political board somewhere.

I agree. But just to clarify, TARP and the stimulus package are 2 completely different animals. TARP is a gov't program to buy assets and equity from financial institutions with the goal of helping to stabilize the financial sector. As far as I know, Disney would not be eligible under this program. With regard to the stimulus package mentioned above, one version already passed in the House of Reps and another version is currently being debated in the Senate....Nothing has been decided or passed yet...

[Ian]

Good point. Important clarification and you're are 100% correct.

[MyDisneyworld]

If the stock price goes down lower it might be a good time to pick up a few shares. I have been watching analyst say it's a great time to buy stocks on the cheap and they love Disney management. When the economy does come around people are going to need to release some stress and hopefully they go to Disney World. After all it is the Happiest Place on Earth!