Walt Disney Ticks Lower on EPS and Revenue Miss (DIS)

Walt Disney DIS dropped over 0.5% lower than its closing price today after the company reported a Q2 EPS of $0.49 versus the Street's estimate of $0.56. The company also reported revenues of $9.08B versus the Street's consensus of $9.12B. The CEO, Robert Iger, said that the company reported a $49M "disparity" between the Street's estimates and the company's reported results due to charges related to the Japanese earthquake, accounting charges for Playdough, and other one-time charges. "There's a huge demographic for male audiences," Iger said in regards to ESPN. He predicted that fan numbers and rates would rise higher "not just in football, but also across other ESPN's other categories." Nevertheless, “We are pleased with the underlying quality of our second quarter earnings,” said Robert Iger, President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “There is great creative momentum throughout the company which gives us continued confidence in our ability to grow our businesses.” Parks and Resorts revenues for the quarter increased 7% to $2.6 billion and segment operating income decreased 3% to $145 million. Results for the quarter were driven by decreases at Disney Cruise Line and Tokyo Disney Resort, partially offset by increases at the company's domestic and consolidated international parks and resorts. The decrease at Tokyo Disney Resort was driven by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which resulted in a temporary suspension of operations at the resort. Results at both Disney's domestic and international parks and resorts reflected an unfavorable impact due a shift in the timing of the Easter holiday relative to the company's fiscal periods. As a result, the current quarter did not include any of the two week Easter holiday while the prior-year quarter included one week of the Easter holiday. The Walt Disney Company today reported earnings for its second fiscal quarter and six months ended April 2, 2011. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the second quarter increased 2% to $0.49, compared to $0.48 in the prior-year quarter. Diluted EPS for the six-months ended April 2, 2011 was $1.16 compared to $0.93 in the prior-year period.