DISNEY EARNINGS EXPECTED TO DROP.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer Wall Street trackers following The Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. are bracing for the entertainment giant to post one of its worst quarters in memory today due to continued poor performance at ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. and home video operations. Disney, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial average Dow Jones Industrial Average The best known U.S. index of stocks. A price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. , is expected to report earnings before markets open today for its first quarter ended Dec. 31. ``We continue to expect December quarter results to look ugly,'' said ING Barings Furman Selz analyst Stewart Halpern, who expected per-share earnings to fall 38 percent to 23 cents a share. First Call's recent survey of 15 analysts generated a mean estimate of 24 cents a share. ``There are a lot of things still impacting the company,'' said Edward Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones is the name of: Edward Jones:
Halpern predicts operating profit Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. in broadcasting will fall 32 percent to $330 million due to higher costs and a 3 percent decline in network ratings. He said creative content will decline 39 percent to $425 million because the quarter saw significant video contributions only from ``Simba's Pride'' and because foreign product sales will remain sluggish. Bannister noted strong results from ``A Bug's Life'' and ``The Waterboy'' had been offset partly by poor performance from ``Mighty Joe Young'' and splitting profits from ``A Bug's Life'' with Pixar Animation. On the plus side, Halpern said theme parks should post a 12 percent gain to $321 million due to Animal Kingdom's opening in Florida and revamps at Disneyland's Tomorrowland. The report will follow downbeat down·beat n. 1. Music a. The downward stroke made by a conductor to indicate the first beat of a measure. b. The first beat of a measure. 2. Informal A period of stagnation or inactivity. results in the previous quarter, when earnings fell 24 percent to $296 million, or 14 cents a share, due to weak films such as ``Holy Man'' and ``Beloved,'' poor foreign video performance and ongoing problems at ABC. That fiscal fourth quarter capped a year where profits fell 6 percent at a company that had often posted year-to-year gains topping 20 percent. Disney stock has been bumped up recently by investor enthusiasm over its launch of the Go.com portal site Noun 1. portal site - a site that the owner positions as an entrance to other sites on the internet; "a portal typically has search engines and free email and chat rooms etc. , which analysts believe is worth an additional $6 a share. Shares closed Tuesday at $34.4375, off 37.5 cents. |
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