Walt Disney Q2 Results Beat Wall Street Estimates

(RTTNews) - Media and entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. (DIS), Wednesday reported a second-quarter profit and revenues that trumped Wall Street estimates.

Burbank, California-based Disney's second-quarter profit rose to $5.45 billion or $3.55 per share from $2.94 billion or $1.95 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $1.61 per share, compared with $1.84 per share last year. On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $1.59 per share.

Revenues for the quarter grew 3% to $14.92 billion from last year's $14.55 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $14.39 billion.

"We're very pleased with our Q2 results and thrilled with the record-breaking success of Avengers: Endgame, which is now the second-highest grossing film of all time and will stream exclusively on Disney+ starting December 11th," said CEO Robert Iger.

On March 20, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox for $71 billion. Disney will now oversee Fox's storied film and television studios as well as stakes in the Sky PLC pay-television company and the Hulu video-streaming service.

Results for the second quarter reflect the consolidation of 11 days of 21st Century Fox and Hulu, with revenues of $373 million and operating income of $25 million.

Media networks segment's revenues were flat at $5.53 billion, while parks and resorts units increased 5% to $6.17 billion.

Studio entertainment revenues dropped 15 percent to $2.13 billion due to s due to a decrease in theatrical and home entertainment distribution results reflecting the success of Black Panther and the continued performance of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in the prior-year quarter. Direct-to-Consumer & International revenues rose 15 percent to $955 million.

DIS closed Wednesday's trading at 134.99, up $1.55 or 1.16% on the NYSE. The stock further gained $0.62 or 0.46% in the after-hours trade.