Disney: How Many Cents Do 'Zootopia' And 'The Jungle Book' Add To Earnings?

Walt Disney Co DIS witnessed significant action at the box office, with its talking-animals centric animations Zootopia and The Jungle Book. UBS’ Doug Mitchelson maintained a Buy rating on Walt Disney, with a price target of $116, saying that the company could beat the current expectations for 2016.

Walt Disney’s 2016 results are expected to be boosted by Zootopia and The Jungle Book, which are now estimated to record combined box office collections of $1.86 billion, versus the prior estimate of $1.1 billion, analyst Doug Mitchelson mentioned. The EPS estimate for FY16 has been raised from $5.82 to $5.91 to reflect higher collections.

Related Link: Disney Scores Big With 'Jungle Book,' Passes $500 Million Mark In Second Weekend

Further Swing Factors For Walt Disney

Mitchelson identified several other factors that may boost Walt Disney’s 2016 performance:

• The collections from Captain America may turn out to be higher than expected, adding to the company’s earnings.
• Upside in US Parks spending per guest could boost earnings. The new tiered pricing for single day tickets may drive an 8 percent increase in single-day pricing.
• The opening of the Shanghai Disneyland in June and the expected encouraging response may also boost the company’s earnings.

Concerns over the imminent decline of ESPN and the potential lack of growth drivers in FY17 have been overshadowed by elevated expectations for FY16 owing to content success and the ongoing Parks build-out, Mitchelson commented.