Waiting for Avengers: Endgame, Disney has a Black Panther comedown

08 May Waiting for Avengers: Endgame, Disney has a Black Panther comedown

The Walt Disney Company’s growing dependence on all things Marvel was front and center today as the entertainment giant reported earnings for its fiscal second quarter.

Overall, the numbers were pretty rosy: Disney reported earnings per share of $1.61, compared to estimates cited by CNBC of $1.58 per share. Revenue was $14.92 billion, versus estimates of $14.36 billion. Wall Street was clearly pleased with the results as Disney shares rose more than 1.5% in after-hours trading.

But Disney’s movie division took a bit of a tumble, with revenue falling 15% to $2.1 billion and segment operating income dropping 39% to $534 million, compared to the same period last year.

That’s largely because of the massive success of last year’s Black Panther, which was the best February release in box-office history. This year’s comparable movie, Captain Marvel, was a success by normal metrics, but had trouble measuring up. Disney also had no Star Wars movie this year to compare with last year’s The Last Jedi.

In an earnings release, Disney CEO Bob Iger touted the even more successful Avengers: Endgame, released in April, but Disney won’t report the effects of that movie until the end of this quarter. When that happens, just wait!

Below are some of the key numbers from the report:

• Total revenue: $14.9 billion (up 3%)
• Media networks revenue: $5.5 billion (no change)
• Theme parks revenue: $6.2 billion (up 5%)
• Studio entertainment revenue: $2.1 billion (down 15%)
• DTC & international revenue: $955,000 (up 15%)

You can find the full release here. We’ll have more analysis after the earnings call.

Source: Fast Company