The Walt Disney Company (DIS) Q1 Earnings Preview: Solid Growth All Over

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The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is scheduled to announce its fiscal first quarter results on February 5 at 4:15 PM EST. The company has also scheduled a live webcast at 5:00 PM EST. The entertainment conglomerate is expected to post a 15% rise in its Q1 earnings amid rising advertising revenues and the success of the animated film Frozen.

Walt Disney’s all five units to show strong growth

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the Burbank, California-based company to report a net profit of $1.63 billion or 91 cents a share for the quarter ending December 31. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) had earned 77 cents or $1.4 billion in the corresponding quarter last year. Wall Street expects the company’s revenues to jump 7.8% from $11.34 billion to $12.23 billion. Analysts are optimistic about all five business units of Walt Disney, which includes Parks & Resorts, Media Networks, Studio Entertainment, Interactive business and Consumer Products.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s Interactive business has been struggling for many years. But the division is expected to make a solid comeback in the latest quarter with the success of Disney Infinity video game. According to research firm NPD, the action-adventure game was among the ten best-selling games of the last year. Needham analyst Laura Martin is expects the company’s Media Networks revenues to grow 6% YoY to $5.39 billion.

Frozen raked in massive moola for Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s Parks & Resorts business continues to attract more customers, and has seen high per-guest spending. Analysts expect the unit’s revenue to jump 8% year-over-year to $3.68 billion. Meanwhile, its Studio Entertainment business is expected to see a 9% increase in its profits to $1.68 billion. This division was helped by the massive success of Frozen, which collected more than $864 million at the box office. Frozen was produced on a budget of $150 million, and hit theaters on November 22.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has a market value of more than $124 billion. The stock has returned about 30% over the past 12 months. In December, the company announced that it would increase its annual dividend from 75 cents to 86 cents per share. Walt Disney shares jumped 0.27% to $71.24 in pre-market trading Wednesday.

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