Disney Slides On Earnings Miss, Declining ESPN Viewership, Layoffs

Disney is sliding after hours after another poor quarter, in which the Mickey Mouse company which recently severed relations with Netflix, reported a miss on the top and the bottom line, reporting Q4 EPS of $1.07, down 3% from the $1.10 a year ago, and below the $1.14 expected. The number would have been even worse had the company used the 34.3% effective tax rate it had one year ago instead of the lower 30.8% rate it used this quarter. The revenue miss was even worse, with DIS generating $12.78BN in Q4, 3% below a year ago, and over half a billion below the $13.32BN expected. Total operating income declined by 11% to $2.8BN from $3.2Bn a year ago, while free cash flow remained flat at $2.7 billion.

The segment breakdown was also disappointing, with virtually every segment missing on either the top, the bottom line, or both.

Cable Networks revenue $3.95 billion, unch; estimate $4 billion; operating profit $1.24 billion, estimate $1.27 billion

Media networks revenue $5.47 billion, down 3%, estimate $5.62 billion;operating income $1.48 billion, estimate $1.60 billion

Parks & resorts revenue $4.67 billion, up 6%, estimate $4.53 billion ; operating income $746 million, estimate $911.0 million

Studio entertainment revenue $1.43 billion, down 21%, estimate $1.52 billion; operating income $218 million, estimate $375.0 million

Consumer/interactive revenue $1.22 billion, down 6% estimate $1.32 billion; operating income $373 million, estimate $452.0 million

A growing concern for Disney is what appears to be a secular decline in ad spend, as the company disclosed:

Operating income at Broadcasting decreased $42 million to $229 million for the quarter driven by lower advertising revenue and a decrease in program sales, partially offset by an increase in affiliate revenue, due to rate increases, and lower programming costs. The decrease in advertising revenue reflected lower network impressions, lower political advertising at our owned television stations and the absence of the Emmy Awards show, partially offset by higher network rates.Lower network impressions were driven by a decrease in average viewership, partially offset by an increase in units delivered.