Why Disney's parks & streaming are so important for earnings

In This Article:

Jonathan Kees, Daiwa Capital Markets America senior research analyst, joins Market Domination Overtime hosts Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton to discuss Disney (DIS) lifting its profit guidance after the company's second quarter earnings report showed that its parks and streaming services performed particularly well.

To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination Overtime here.

00:00 Speaker A

Well, as we've been talking about Disney lifting its profit outlook after delivering a rebound in its domestic parks business, and its streaming saw its fourth straight quarter of profitability, Daiwa Capital Markets Senior America, America Senior Research Analyst, excuse me, Jonathan Kees is joining us now to discuss. Jonathan, thanks for being here. Since we were just talking about that comparison with Netflix, let's start there on the streaming side of Disney's business. And yes, it sort of feels like different parts of the business it can lean into at different times. With the parks doing so well, what did streaming do for Disney this past quarter?

02:08 Jonathan Kees

Right. First, thanks for having me in. Yeah, that's a mouthful of a title. The parks business did spectacular. It, um, grew top line, grew profitability. It contributed to the overall top line growth of 7% and adjusted EPS of, uh, $1.45 or about 20% year-over-year growth. Operating income overall grew 15% year-over-year. So, uh, so the streaming did exceptional in terms of that it reached another milestone in profitability, 5.5% operating margin. Uh, you know, there was a talk about Netflix. Netflix is double-digit operating margins. Once Disney, and Disney sees that achievable, can reach double digits, the operating income should really expand and contribute to overall profitability, as well as just the top line growth. The parks business has been another driver, a consistent driver since the reopening of society, and it's just been, despite the macro headwinds that were mentioned by your reporter, uh, they just delivered solid attendance, solid numbers, solid metrics. Yes, China was a little soft, but domestic is so much larger, and they had less international visitors than they have, uh, because of the macro headwinds, but they made up for it with domestic guests. So, despite what you've heard of the airlines pulling guidance and talking about cautious economy, and even some of the cruise lines and hotels, Disney and for its part, Comcast, they've reported very strong domestic numbers for the parks, specifically Orlando, which are the biggest properties and parks for, for both the names. So, that diversification actually adds a lot, whether it's, especially if we have macro uncertainty.

06:46 Speaker A

I have to ask you just a broader question. Now consumers, uh, and you're you're looking at the same consumer sentiment surveys that we do. Increasingly negative, sour, Jonathan. I mean, given that, I just have to ask you, were you, were you surprised by this Disney print and guidance as positive as it was?

07:40 Jonathan Kees

I think there were a number invest on the street who were expecting dire numbers because the pricing for Disney park tickets is pretty high. It's above that of the, um, it's above what most of can afford for consumers, the average consumer in the US. Uh, with that said, despite the consumer sentiment numbers coming down, uh, the segment that Disney targets is more the higher end. The higher end has been a little bit more resilient. And that's been coming out during this earnings season. Uh, I mean the, the vacations at Disney are, are quite pricey and the, especially if you stay at the hotels, the resorts, that those are above average, far above average in terms of the hotel rates. So, uh, I wasn't as surprised because of the fact that they target the higher end, and also even, um, even the middle or lower income, who could find this be quite pricey of an experience, there's a lot of fans, there's a lot of just devout fans of the IP, of the intellectual property that Disney has. And they'll say, you know, we'll just take one big splurge for the year. Uh, it's above our budget, but we'll just save everything and blow our savings for the year on a Disney vacation. And they'll go to Star Wars, they'll go to Marvel, they'll go to Disney princess, princesses. All that, um, passionate fans, they just will, they'll be willing to pay above board prices in order to experience that.