Disney Q1 Earnings Preview: Will the media giant snap like Thanos?

Possibly the owner of every ’90s memorabilia property except DC Comics and other Warner Bros. things, The Walt Disney Co (DIS), is set to announce its first-quarter 2019 earnings after the closing bell on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

But all is not fun and jolly in the Disney world — much like the Avengers now — for analyst predict both revenue and profit to fall for the quarter. The Street sees adjusted earnings slipping about 17% to $1.57 a share, while revenue falling about 1% to $15.18 billion.

Disney’s largest segment Media Networks might slightly see a climb in revenues to about $6.3 billion, while Disney’s Park and Resorts revenues could surge more than 8% to cross $5.58 billion.

However, all eyes will be on Disney’s Studio Entertainment unit. This swing unit is mostly based on movie release schedules and box office results. So estimating all that, Studio Entertainment top-line might slip about 15% to a little more than $2.1 billion.

On Friday, Feb. 1, Disney shares closed at $111.30 a share. This was 7.5% lower than the 52-week high of $120.20.

It would be exciting to see how the media mammoth’s shares will react with the results. Be sure to check our coverage on Tuesday.

LOOKING BACK

In the previously reported fourth-quarter, the media conglomerate reported strong earnings growth on higher contributions from the Parks & Resorts and Studio Entertainment businesses. The results surpassed estimates and the company’s stock gained shortly after the earnings announcement.

However, the focus was on how Disney was in the midst of a game-changing diversification into direct-to-consumer entertainment offerings, with the aim of competing with streaming majors like Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) with its DISNEY+ service. The service was expected to be launched using the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox (FOXA), which the company acquired earlier in 2018,  including its storied film and television studios.

How this translates to the results is yet to be seen. But given the volatile nature of the entertainment industry and the track record of Disney, we’ll be looking out for surprises on Tuesday.

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