It was the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite that was the big earner of the day, surging by 1%, while the S&P 500 advanced by over 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.4% higher, or 150 points. Equities largely rose along with investor confidence following the influx of positive corporate earnings.

Disney shares rose by over 6% after the company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat expectations, with Disney adding that it would be boosting its cash dividend by 50%. On the other end of the spectrum, Snap shares plunged by over 34% after the social media company posted a lower profit forecast for the current quarter than expected.

The post S&P 500 Hits Record, Approaches 5,000 for First Time in History appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The company had an underwhelming second quarter, missing out on revenues and failing to meet the expectations of analysts when it comes to their Disney+ streaming services. At the time, Disney announced it would make a series of moves, including price hikes and cost cuts, in an attempt to turn things around.

“We’re prioritizing the strength of our brands and franchises, we’re rationalizing the volume of content we make, what we spend, and what markets we invest in,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said at the time.

However, the investors don’t seem to be convinced by the prospects of these moves, and Disney shares have seen their fair share of ups and downs in recent periods. The stock’s most recent closing price came at $82.47, representing its lowest mark since October 2014. A number of analysts believe this is still not a cheap price due to the company’s obvious issues and recommend waiting a while longer before buying the dip.

The post Disney Stock Drops to 9-Year Low, and It Might Not Stop There appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Disney reported revenue of $22.33 billion compared to $22.51 billion expected. Its Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products arm narrowly beat the analyst’s predictions with $8.33 billion versus $8.25 billion estimated revenue, but Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division fell short of 14.36 billion expected. Adjusted earnings per share came at $1.03 versus $0.99 expected.

Disney+ streaming services saw a 7.4% decline compared to the first quarter and now have 146.1 million total subscribers. The analysts expected fewer losses and estimated the streamer would finish Q2 with 154.8 million subscribers.

However, Disney managed to encourage investors by forecasting capital spending of $5 billion, which represents a dip of $1 billion compared to the $6 billion forecast in Q1. The company also announced its intention to start paying dividends again by the end of this year.

Disney’s shares closed at $87.49 on Wednesday, which represents a 1.66% year-to-date loss. The stock climbed as high as $91.98 per share in after-hours trading.

“Our results this quarter are reflective of what we’ve accomplished through the unprecedented transformation we’re undertaking at Disney to restructure the company, improve efficiencies, and restore creativity to the center of our business,” said CEO Bob Iger in a statement.

The post Disney Stock Climbs Amid Lower Capital Spending Forecast appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Revenue for the three months ending March 31 was $21.82 billion; on par with Wall Street’s estimates. The company’s Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products unit soared, while the Disney+ streaming platform was able to reduce its losses from the previous quarter.

157.8 million new Disney+ subscribers were added in the first quarter, falling short of an estimated 163.1 million subscribers. While the company’s streaming losses were $1.1 billion in Q1, this is a significant decline from the $1.4 billion losses incurred in Q4 of 2022.

Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products was the strongest performer for the quarter, generating a revenue of $7.78 billion compared to an estimated $7.67 billion.

“We’re pleased with our accomplishments this quarter, including the improved financial performance of our streaming business, which reflect the strategic changes we’ve been making throughout the company to realign Disney for sustained growth and success,” CEO Bob Iger stated in the earnings release. “From movies to television, to sports, news, and our theme parks, we continue to deliver for consumers, while establishing a more efficient, coordinated, and streamlined approach to our operations.”

Shares in the company dipped by 2% following the earnings release.

The post Disney Quarterly Earnings Miss Estimates appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

In 2022, Comcast’s streaming service Peacock incurred an operating loss of $2.5 billion; a 47% increase from the previous year. Comcast president Michael Cavanagh told investors during an earnings call in January that he expects losses to peak at around $3 billion this year after which they will improve.

Disney’s direct-to-consumer division suffered a loss of over $4 billion for the 2022 fiscal year ending October 1, having spent over $33 billion on content during the course of the year. Disney’s CFO Christine McCarthy claimed during a company earnings call in November that “peak losses are now behind us.”

Reduced losses across the industry are expected to be a result of cost-cutting, with the likes of Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish stating that his company is set to embrace cost-cutting. This comes after Paramount reported a loss of roughly $1.82 billion in 2022.

The post Comcast And Disney Confident Despite Peak Losses Ahead appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Bazinet offered the following observation in a note to clients: “We believe Disney may sell its 67% stake in Hulu. In parallel, we suspect Disney may secure the distribution rights to two Marvel characters held by Comcast (Hulk and Namor).”

While Disney owns all of the Marvel intellectual property, it does not own the distribution rights to the characters of Hulk and Namor. Currently, it is Comcast Corporation that owns these rights. As a result, Comcast retains the ability to distribute any Hulk or Namor-centric films to its various NBCU media platforms, like Peacock.

Bazinet explained that Disney’s stake in Hulu is worth significantly more than the rights for the two Marvel characters. Despite this fact, the Citi analyst believes that this move is being considered as it aligns with Disney’s strategy to focus more on core brands.

Prior to this latest observation, Bazinet explained that Disney could consider raising Hulu subscription prices or combining the streaming platform with Disney+.

The post Disney Considers Selling Hulu Stake and Expanding Marvel Rights appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the memo, such recruitment changes are aimed at bringing the Disney+ streaming service to profitability. “While certain macroeconomic factors are out of our control, meeting these goals requires all of us to continue doing our part to manage the things we can control – most notably, our costs,” Chapek explained.

Disney’s fourth-quarter earnings which were released last week fell short of analysts’ expectations, with much of its losses coming from the company’s efforts to push its streaming services. Shares in the company fell by 13% on Wednesday following the release of the results.

Although Disney+ added 12 million subscribers in its fiscal fourth quarter, the streaming platform also incurred an operating loss of nearly $1.5 billion, as revealed in the company’s fourth-quarter fiscal results.

Chapek revealed that he had appointed a task force to assist him in making decisions regarding Disney’s future.

The post Disney Looks to Freeze Hiring, Cut Jobs Amid Financial Uncertainty appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Disney’s business has been doing well all across the board with the Q2 revenue coming at $21.5 billion compared to an expected $21 billion. The company also reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.09 versus the $0.96 estimated.

The parks, experience, consumer products segment, and Disney+ streaming service were among the biggest contributors to a successful quarter. The parks, experience, and consumer products unit raked up $7.39 billion in revenue, which is 740 million more than the estimated $6.65 billion. On the other hand, Disney+ added 14.4 million new subscribers in Q2 compared to the 10 million expected and made another big step in becoming the biggest streamer on the market.

Speaking about Disney+, the company announced a significant price hike of monthly subscriptions as part of the Q2 report. The standard plan will see a 38% hike, going from $7.99 to $10.99 a month. The company also plans to introduce an ad-supported plan, which will cost $7.99.

The post Disney’s Shares Up Almost 7% After Q2 Report Beats Wall Street Estimates appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Rice and Walden, who previously served as Chairman of Entertainment, joined Disney after the company acquired 21st Century Fox. Together, they have been doing a great job for Disney’s TV division and have been lauded across the industry for their efforts. But this obviously wasn’t enough for Rice to stay on his job.

Reportedly, Rice, who signed a new deal just last year, didn’t expect to be fired. He was notified about the decision on Wednesday in a short conversation with Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Sources close to the situation said that Chapek told Rice “he wasn’t a cultural fit” for the company. However, many believe the real reason behind his decision is that he felt Rice wasn’t 100 percent loyal to him and could represent competition in the future.

Disney stock hovered around $110 per share in early June but then dropped as low as $100.11 on Friday.

The post Disney Fires Top TV Executive Peter Rice in a Major Shakeup appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

It was the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite that was the big earner of the day, surging by 1%, while the S&P 500 advanced by over 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.4% higher, or 150 points. Equities largely rose along with investor confidence following the influx of positive corporate earnings.

Disney shares rose by over 6% after the company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat expectations, with Disney adding that it would be boosting its cash dividend by 50%. On the other end of the spectrum, Snap shares plunged by over 34% after the social media company posted a lower profit forecast for the current quarter than expected.

The post S&P 500 Hits Record, Approaches 5,000 for First Time in History appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The company had an underwhelming second quarter, missing out on revenues and failing to meet the expectations of analysts when it comes to their Disney+ streaming services. At the time, Disney announced it would make a series of moves, including price hikes and cost cuts, in an attempt to turn things around.

“We’re prioritizing the strength of our brands and franchises, we’re rationalizing the volume of content we make, what we spend, and what markets we invest in,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said at the time.

However, the investors don’t seem to be convinced by the prospects of these moves, and Disney shares have seen their fair share of ups and downs in recent periods. The stock’s most recent closing price came at $82.47, representing its lowest mark since October 2014. A number of analysts believe this is still not a cheap price due to the company’s obvious issues and recommend waiting a while longer before buying the dip.

The post Disney Stock Drops to 9-Year Low, and It Might Not Stop There appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Disney reported revenue of $22.33 billion compared to $22.51 billion expected. Its Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products arm narrowly beat the analyst’s predictions with $8.33 billion versus $8.25 billion estimated revenue, but Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division fell short of 14.36 billion expected. Adjusted earnings per share came at $1.03 versus $0.99 expected.

Disney+ streaming services saw a 7.4% decline compared to the first quarter and now have 146.1 million total subscribers. The analysts expected fewer losses and estimated the streamer would finish Q2 with 154.8 million subscribers.

However, Disney managed to encourage investors by forecasting capital spending of $5 billion, which represents a dip of $1 billion compared to the $6 billion forecast in Q1. The company also announced its intention to start paying dividends again by the end of this year.

Disney’s shares closed at $87.49 on Wednesday, which represents a 1.66% year-to-date loss. The stock climbed as high as $91.98 per share in after-hours trading.

“Our results this quarter are reflective of what we’ve accomplished through the unprecedented transformation we’re undertaking at Disney to restructure the company, improve efficiencies, and restore creativity to the center of our business,” said CEO Bob Iger in a statement.

The post Disney Stock Climbs Amid Lower Capital Spending Forecast appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Revenue for the three months ending March 31 was $21.82 billion; on par with Wall Street’s estimates. The company’s Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products unit soared, while the Disney+ streaming platform was able to reduce its losses from the previous quarter.

157.8 million new Disney+ subscribers were added in the first quarter, falling short of an estimated 163.1 million subscribers. While the company’s streaming losses were $1.1 billion in Q1, this is a significant decline from the $1.4 billion losses incurred in Q4 of 2022.

Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products was the strongest performer for the quarter, generating a revenue of $7.78 billion compared to an estimated $7.67 billion.

“We’re pleased with our accomplishments this quarter, including the improved financial performance of our streaming business, which reflect the strategic changes we’ve been making throughout the company to realign Disney for sustained growth and success,” CEO Bob Iger stated in the earnings release. “From movies to television, to sports, news, and our theme parks, we continue to deliver for consumers, while establishing a more efficient, coordinated, and streamlined approach to our operations.”

Shares in the company dipped by 2% following the earnings release.

The post Disney Quarterly Earnings Miss Estimates appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

In 2022, Comcast’s streaming service Peacock incurred an operating loss of $2.5 billion; a 47% increase from the previous year. Comcast president Michael Cavanagh told investors during an earnings call in January that he expects losses to peak at around $3 billion this year after which they will improve.

Disney’s direct-to-consumer division suffered a loss of over $4 billion for the 2022 fiscal year ending October 1, having spent over $33 billion on content during the course of the year. Disney’s CFO Christine McCarthy claimed during a company earnings call in November that “peak losses are now behind us.”

Reduced losses across the industry are expected to be a result of cost-cutting, with the likes of Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish stating that his company is set to embrace cost-cutting. This comes after Paramount reported a loss of roughly $1.82 billion in 2022.

The post Comcast And Disney Confident Despite Peak Losses Ahead appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Bazinet offered the following observation in a note to clients: “We believe Disney may sell its 67% stake in Hulu. In parallel, we suspect Disney may secure the distribution rights to two Marvel characters held by Comcast (Hulk and Namor).”

While Disney owns all of the Marvel intellectual property, it does not own the distribution rights to the characters of Hulk and Namor. Currently, it is Comcast Corporation that owns these rights. As a result, Comcast retains the ability to distribute any Hulk or Namor-centric films to its various NBCU media platforms, like Peacock.

Bazinet explained that Disney’s stake in Hulu is worth significantly more than the rights for the two Marvel characters. Despite this fact, the Citi analyst believes that this move is being considered as it aligns with Disney’s strategy to focus more on core brands.

Prior to this latest observation, Bazinet explained that Disney could consider raising Hulu subscription prices or combining the streaming platform with Disney+.

The post Disney Considers Selling Hulu Stake and Expanding Marvel Rights appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the memo, such recruitment changes are aimed at bringing the Disney+ streaming service to profitability. “While certain macroeconomic factors are out of our control, meeting these goals requires all of us to continue doing our part to manage the things we can control – most notably, our costs,” Chapek explained.

Disney’s fourth-quarter earnings which were released last week fell short of analysts’ expectations, with much of its losses coming from the company’s efforts to push its streaming services. Shares in the company fell by 13% on Wednesday following the release of the results.

Although Disney+ added 12 million subscribers in its fiscal fourth quarter, the streaming platform also incurred an operating loss of nearly $1.5 billion, as revealed in the company’s fourth-quarter fiscal results.

Chapek revealed that he had appointed a task force to assist him in making decisions regarding Disney’s future.

The post Disney Looks to Freeze Hiring, Cut Jobs Amid Financial Uncertainty appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Disney’s business has been doing well all across the board with the Q2 revenue coming at $21.5 billion compared to an expected $21 billion. The company also reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.09 versus the $0.96 estimated.

The parks, experience, consumer products segment, and Disney+ streaming service were among the biggest contributors to a successful quarter. The parks, experience, and consumer products unit raked up $7.39 billion in revenue, which is 740 million more than the estimated $6.65 billion. On the other hand, Disney+ added 14.4 million new subscribers in Q2 compared to the 10 million expected and made another big step in becoming the biggest streamer on the market.

Speaking about Disney+, the company announced a significant price hike of monthly subscriptions as part of the Q2 report. The standard plan will see a 38% hike, going from $7.99 to $10.99 a month. The company also plans to introduce an ad-supported plan, which will cost $7.99.

The post Disney’s Shares Up Almost 7% After Q2 Report Beats Wall Street Estimates appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Rice and Walden, who previously served as Chairman of Entertainment, joined Disney after the company acquired 21st Century Fox. Together, they have been doing a great job for Disney’s TV division and have been lauded across the industry for their efforts. But this obviously wasn’t enough for Rice to stay on his job.

Reportedly, Rice, who signed a new deal just last year, didn’t expect to be fired. He was notified about the decision on Wednesday in a short conversation with Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Sources close to the situation said that Chapek told Rice “he wasn’t a cultural fit” for the company. However, many believe the real reason behind his decision is that he felt Rice wasn’t 100 percent loyal to him and could represent competition in the future.

Disney stock hovered around $110 per share in early June but then dropped as low as $100.11 on Friday.

The post Disney Fires Top TV Executive Peter Rice in a Major Shakeup appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.