350ET: CNBC just previewed Disney’s Earnings by calling their report a “maelstrom” of earnings with several companies reporting after the bell. The choice of words is ironic given the ongoing rumors that the Maelstrom attraction will be closed to make way for a Frozen attraction. Bob will be appearing on CNBC in a few moments to discuss the company’s earnings.
401ET: The market closed with Disney ending the day down .49 cents to 86.75. The market had a rough day with the Dow down .85% Disney stock was only down .56% so Disney fared better today than the general market which seems to be concerned with the geopolitical climate.
410ET: As we wait for Disney news, News Corp announces that they have withdrawn their offer for Time Warner. This caused for Time Warner stock to lower in after hours trading while News Corp stock has rose.
418 ET. Earnings per share are out. $1.28 the highest earning per share in company’s history. Disney beats on both top and bottom line.
419 ET: Bob on CNBC says he believes that the Fox/Time Warner deal fell apart due to Time Warner’s reluctance in the deal.
421 ET: Bob Iger on the earnings announcement; “Our strategy of building strong brands and franchises continues to create great value across our company. This quarter we delivered the highest EPS in the company’s history, and we’ve now generated greater EPS in the first three quarters of FY 2014 than we have in any previous full fiscal year. We’re extremely pleased with these results and we are also thrilled with the spectacular performance of Guardians of the Galaxy, which holds great promise as a new franchise for our company and once again reinforces the tremendous value of Marvel.”
423 ET: Disney’s revenues were 12,466 million up 8% from prior year. Net Income is 2,245 billion up 22% from prior year.
429 ET: Bob Iger just said that Star Wars: Episode VII had a very brief hiatus in production partly due to Harrison Ford’s ankle injury.
431 ET: The anchor on CNBC said she is very interested in seeing if Disney can turn The Wrinkle in Time into the next blockbuster franchise as she loves the book. Earlier today, it was reported that Frozen co-directer Jennifer Lee was adapting the book for Disney.
438 ET: Parks and Resorts results were impacted due to higher costs associated with MyMagic+ Capital Expenditures at domestic parks were up 57 million dollars compared to prior year. It is unknown how much of this went to launching MyMagic+
443 ET: Tsum Tsum and Frozen Free Fall were called out as being successes for the Disney Interactive segment which helped that division grow profitability.
457 ET: The hold-music selected for this conference call is the score of Frozen. I am kind of disappointed that they didn’t use the Mix Tape from Guardians of the Galaxy. Probably rights issues.
502 ET: The call begins with comments from Bob Iger as he addresses the record breaking performance of the company. Disney generated higher EPS in the first 3 quarters of this fiscal year than they have done in any previous full fiscal year. He is also excited about the outstanding performance of Guardians of the Galaxy, which domestically is at $106 million in box office. He is also excited about the new line of Frozen merchandise which is coming out later this year. Disney Interactive had their fourth straight quarter of profitability. Shanghai Disney Resort is expected to announce an opening day in 6 months or so.
505 ET: Bob Iger said they will be announcing the plans for a greater Star Wars presence at the parks sometime next year.
508 ET: Jay Rasulo calls out Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a show that helped ABC’s broadcast performance.
513 ET: After reportedly struggling, Disney is starting to see an uptick in their mobile game business.
515 ET: Q&A Time: Analyst asks if Disney has any strong character franchises. This is the first question, but might be the winner for dumbest question of the day. Bob says Avatar is the only franchise at the park that they don’t own.
517 ET: Bob Iger says MyMagic+ will start contributing to the bottom line starting with the quarter we are in. He declined to say how, except he mentioned PhotoPass.
520 ET: The analyst asked Bob to discuss his feelings with the recent TV upfront. Bob said they are seeing growth in the digital ad space. He feels that not all of the money lost in the upfront went to digital markets, but that some of it will be saved for the scatter market. He said ESPN has had strength in the Upfront which may be related to the value of live programming. But Bob said they are trying to not rely as much on advertising with initiatives such as affiliate fees and digital platforms.
523 ET: JP Morgan analyst asked about future profitability at the parks. Jay responds said that the recent theme park initiatives had been a drag on margins. As those initiatives ramp up and start contributing, you see growth of margins. Jay did mention that ongoing investment and initiatives are part of the parks business. Bob added that as they add attractions that are based on existing brands, such as Star Wars, the likelihood that they will be successful. He used this as another opportunity to say they will be adding a substantial Star Wars presence.
526 ET: The next analyst wants information about ESPN’s soon to launch SEC Network. Jay said the network has the best channel launch in cable history. The channel will reach 80 million cable households.
528 ET: He then asked about growth in the international pay-tv market. Bob said that the growth of pay-tv market is good for them as they own great content. Bob also mentioned they are working on ways to sell their content direct-to-consumer.
530 ET: In regards to a question about strength at the Studio. Bob replied that with Marvel, Star Wars, Disney Animation, and Pixar, the slate will always be strong. He also mentioned the Disney live-action slate pointing to the success of Maleficent. He said the only thing that could cause a problem at the studio would be a wide-spread creative failure and that he doesn’t see that happening.
533 ET: Bob said the television marketplace will on go for the best channels and that Disney has those channels.
536 ET: Next analyst asked why Disney is the company that pioneered distributing content with Netflix. Bob replied that the platform and financial relationship are beneficial for Disney.
538 ET: The Citi analyst asked about MovieBeam, Disney’s defunct direct-to-consumer effort. He said that Disney will be selling content direct-to-consumer, but that this time it won’t require a special set-top box.
544 ET: The next analyst asked if the Studio business could ever get better than it is right now. Bob guaranteed that not every single film will work, but that they have a great team that put out greats movies. Bob said that he won’t predict growth, but points out that this year didn’t even include a Pixar film. He said that they delayed the film because they didn’t want to rush out a film that wasn’t up to quality.
547 ET: Next analyst asked about the impact of Harrison Ford’s leg injury. Bob would not give any details but that they are on track to meet their release date.
550 ET: Last question is if Disney feels the need to acquire cable networks through mergers and acquisitions. Bob said that they do not feel the need to gain any additional channels as they continue to grow Disney Channels worldwide. There are plenty of places to put their content beyond their own owned channels.