340pm ET: We are getting excited for the earnings announcement. While we wait, have you seen the new pictures of Shanghai Disney Resort? Expect Bob and Jay to be asked about the delay of the project from 2015 to the first half of 2016.
356pm ET: Ahead of the close, Disney Stock is trading up over 2 dollars a share at 93.94
409pm ET: Disney ended the day up 2.12 points at 94.05. It will be interesting to see how the stock does in after hours trading.
411pm ET: It is expected that Bob Iger will go on the record regarding the measles scare at Disneyland.
417pm ET: EPS $1.27, beating the street by 20 cents. Last year it was $1.04 EPS.
418pm ET: Disney saw growth on both the top and bottom line growth (earnings and revenue)
420pm ET: Disney revenue up 9% and net income up 19% with the biggest boost coming from consumer product division (operating income up 46%)
422pm ET: Frozen products have helped Disney Consumer Products in a big way.
423pm ET: Disney theme parks have seen increases in attendance and guest spending.
424pm ET: Disney is not able to discern any impact due to the measles scare.
425pm ET: Here is the link to the earnings release.
426pm ET: Capital spending at domestic parks is up 24 million dollars in the quarter. That means money spent on new experiences such as Avatar and the Diamond Celebration. CapEx spending on international parks is up 314 million due to the construction of Shanghai Disney Resort.
432pm ET: Disney stock is up an additional 2.81 in after hours trading. This brings the stock to a new all-time high of 96.85.
500pm ET: The earnings call has begun. You can listen along to the steam here.
503pm ET: Iger points to “Frozen” as one of the franchises that has propelled the company this past quarter and promotes “Frozen Fever” to run before “Cinderella”
504pm ET: “Frozen” is one of 11 franchises that each bring in $1 billion for the company. This lead consumer products to have their best quarter ever.
506pm ET: Iger is currently reminding investors about the upcoming studios slate. “Cinderella” “Tomorrowland” “Age of Ultron” “Ant Man” “Inside Out” “The Good Dinosaur” and some film called “Star Wars.”
508pm ET: Iger says Shanghai is looking great, reporting that the hotel is about done and that casting will begin shortly. Construction is set to end by the end of 2015 and will open in Spring 2016.
512pm ET: Rasulo reveals that while they were happy with the performance of “Big Hero 6” it was clearly down from “Frozen”
513pm ET: Rasulo says Walt Disney World and Disneyland each set attendance records last quarter
515pm ET: ESPN cost more to operate this quarter than in the past partially because of new licensing agreements.
518pm ET: Ad revenue at ESPN was down last quarter but is currently up 18% this quarter thanks to the college football playoffs.
519pm ET: Rasulo just said “Tsum Tsums” and it was awesome.
520pm ET: First question asks about Sling subscription for ESPN. Iger says there’s not enough data to speak too much on it yet.
522pm ET: Rasulo says Disney resort hotels saw occupancy around 89%.
523pm ET: Next question asks about benefits of MyMagic+. Bob says they’ve gotten excelled guest feedback; says they’ve getting to experience more.
525pm ET: Iger also says they have seen fiscal benefits of MM+ but doesn’t have sharable figures. However he did say it’s helping to increase park capacities without impacting guest experience.
527pm ET: Iger is asked about future subscription services that go directly to consumers ala the Sling TV package. He says there may be opportunities with Disney, Marvel and Star Wars but sees the ESPN/Sling deal as an experiment. There are also complications with the cable packages and how losing that could hurt them (to put this all simply).
533pm ET: Iger says post holiday demand for consumer products has been “unique” and speaks to the strength of the company’s franchises.
534pm ET: Iger once again plugs the 7-minute “Frozen Fever” short attached to “Cinderella” and think it may drive even more buzz for “Frozen”
538pm ET: Next question is about ABC and why we haven’t seen more growth in advertising (ad unit sales were down) while relative ratings were strong. Rasulo speaks about why that would happen but says he believes ABC is well positioned.
540pm ET: Iger is asked about Shanghai and future expansion of parks. He mentions Avatarland (2017), says there’s lots of design work going on for Star War. He promises more details later this year and that they have “big plans.”
542pm ET: Once again, 11 Disney franchises are expected to bring in $1 billion each this year.
545pm ET: Next question asks to put “Frozen”‘s success in context — has it surpassed “Cars?”
547pm ET: Rasulo says “Frozen” has been major but says it was not the only strong brand for consumer products. He also thinks the franchise will have legs.
551pm ET: The next question asks for a hypothesis as to why international travel to Orlando has allegedly spiked. Rasulo doesn’t seem to have one and says the parks haven’t seen a huge impact.
555pm ET: A question is asked about vertical integration vs horizontal integration as it relates to Makers vs. Lucasfilm. Iger says the company likes to be in new spaces but is still going to focus on storytelling and brands thus not changing much of what they’ve been doing.
557pm ET: Iger is asked about the delay in Shanghai. He says they were “targeting” 2015 but decided to up the scale and capacity of the project — adding $800 million to the project. Spring 2016 is more opportune time for the park to open.
557pm ET: Someone asks is “Inside Out” was a Disney IP that was given to Pixar. Iger notes that it was purely from the mind of the great Pete Docter.
600pm ET: That concludes the earnings call. Thanks for following along — we’ll update with more info shortly.