The global economic downturn hit Walt Disney this quarter as the company reported earnings of $760 million, or 40 cents per share, down from $877 million, or 44 cents per share a year ago. Disney said the advertising climate had softened the performance of its cable and broadcast networks and that its theme parks suffered from higher labor and fuel costs.
The Los Angeles Times reported Disney executives have been meeting this week to prepare cost saving meansures that may include company wide job cuts. Company executives said no decisions had been made about layoffs yet.
On August 1, 2008 The Walt Disney Company released its third quarter earnings results. The company's revenues for the quarter were $9.24 billion, a 2% increase fromt he same period of 2007. While earnings beat anaylysts' expectations, shares slipped as investors noted Disney may be more negatively affected by the weak economy than originally expected.
On May 6, 2008 Disney released its second quarter earnings. The company's profits increased 22%, beating analyst expectations. Profits were driven by strong results in media networks, entertainment and the parks and resorts business segments.
Disney released its first quarter earnings results on February 6, 2008. The company's results beat analysts' expectations with increased revenues from cable sales and theme park sales. Disney announced earnings per share of $0.63.
On November 8, 2007, Disney released its fourth quarter earnings. While the company reported 12% gains in profits, shares slipped in following days.
For the third quarter of its fiscal year 2007, Disney reported a 4.7% increase in profit (57 cents per share as opposed to the expected 53 cents), due largely to strong performance in television programming and revenues from its theme parks. The stock rose 2.5% in Wednesday's regular session.
Disney's stock rose 2.6% on June 15, 2007, when an analyst at SMH Capital upgraded the company to "buy" with a 12-month target price of $44.
In a deal with a labor union representing around one-third of all Disney employees, the company agreed to a new contract through October of 2010. Provisions in the deal include pay raises (in the 4%-5% range, on average) and enhanced pension plans. Disney's stock fell on this news.
Stock moves from 35.63 to 35.97 in a day on news that Disney debuted a social networking site for children under 14 years of age.
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