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Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)
Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.
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Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.
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Disney Earnings In-Depth: ESPN Woes Hurt Revenue
Disney (DIS - Free Report) just reported its first-quarter 2017 earnings, and the massive media conglomerate is garnering plenty of attention today because of it. While Disney has its hands in a lot of things, perhaps the most intriguing part of today’s report is the new data from its Media Networks division.
Disney’s Media Networks, which includes all-day sports programming channel ESPN, has been the focus of investors over the past few years due to increased competition from Netflix (NFLX), Hulu, and Amazon’s (AMZN) Prime Video. ESPN and Disney’s other channels are inherently linked to cable subscriptions, meaning that the “cord-cutting” phenomenon has cut into the company’s revenues.
In the fourth quarter of 2016, Disney’s Media Networks division brought in $5.658 billion, down from $5.826 billion in the comparable quarter.
In the prior-year quarter, the Media Networks segment saw revenues of $6.332 billion. According to today’s report, Media Networks saw first-quarter 2017 revenues of $6.233 billion, which represents a 2% year-over-year decline.
Breaking this down a bit, Cable Networks, a division within Media Networks that includes channels like ESPN, saw revenues decrease 2% to $4.4 billion. In the earnings report, the company said that the decrease in operating income in this division was due to “a decrease at ESPN.”
“The decrease at ESPN was due to higher programming costs and lower advertising revenue, partially offset by affiliate revenue growth,” the company said, pointing the finger at College Football Playoff games and more expensive contracts with the NBA and NFL.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? As of early December, the 2016 Top 10 produced 5 double-digit winners including oil and natural gas giant Pioneer Natural Resources which racked up a stellar +50% gain. The new list is painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Be among the very first to see it>>