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Disney (DIS) Beats in Fiscal Q1; MGM Beats, WYNN Mixed

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Markets closed slightly off session lows this Hump Day, confirming what today’s pre-market appeared to signal: a sell-off from gains earlier this week and Friday of last week. It’s nothing drastic: the Dow shed -207 points, -0.61%, while the Nasdaq slipped -203 points, -1.68%. The S&P 500 finished the day -1.11% and the small-cap Russell 2000 was -1.52%.

Following the closing bell, The Walt Disney Company (DIS - Free Report) posted beats on both top and bottom lines for its fiscal Q1 report: earnings of 99 cents per share outpaced the Zacks consensus by a hearty 30 cents (still shy of the $1.06 per share posted a year ago, but not by much), on +8% growth on the top line, with $23.51 billion beating expectations for $23.34 billion.

It’s an auspicious return for CEO Bob Iger, who took the helm back from Bob Chapek in November of last year. The biggest concern for the company in terms of its quarterly performance was in its Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) business, including Disney+ and TV networks including ABC and ESPN. Losses in this segment reached -$1.05 billion, but that was better than the -$1.22 billion expected.

For the first time since the unveiling of its Disney+ streaming service, the company posted a quarterly loss in the segment. A total of 2.4 million former subscribers churned out during the quarter, bringing the total to 161.8 million, lower than anticipated. Its Parks & Experiences business, however, outpaced expectations, $7.17 billion versus the $6.55 billion estimate.

Of course, the conference call at the bottom of the hour will have much more information, not only because it marks Iger’s return but because it is also likely to address activist investor Nelson Peltz’s aggressive attempt to gain a seat on Disney’s board. These sorts of things generally do not amount to significant front office changes, especially with a company the size of Disney, but Peltz’s own history is better than most in this regard. In any case, Disney shares are +9% in late trading today.

MGM Resorts (MGM - Free Report) also posted Q4 earnings results this afternoon, posting a narrower-than-expected loss on its bottom line — -$1.53 per share versus -$1.60 in the Zacks consensus — on $3.6 billion in sales, which surpassed the expected $3.5 billion. EBITDAR in the quarter hit an all-time high $957 million, as Las Vegas Strip Resorts and Regional Operations posted their best year ever. Shares are up +2% in late trading, adding to the company’s +24% year to date.

Wynn Resorts (WYNN - Free Report) reported Q4 results after the bell, as well — mixed with a deeper-than-expected loss of -$1.23 per share missing the Zacks consensus -$1.17 on revenues of $1.00 billion, which outpaced the $941.1 million expected. Its EBITDAR also set records in its Las Vegas and Boston, with Macau coming back online and putting up good quarterly numbers. Shares are +3% in after-hours trading, adding to the +21% the stock has enjoyed, year to date.

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