Well done, Disney (NYSE: DIS). Fast cars and faster swashbucklers helped the family entertainment giant blow past Wall Street targets in its fiscal first-quarter report. Earnings soared 43% higher to hit $0.50 per share, with revenues inching 10% higher to clock in at $9.7 billion. Analysts were only looking for spurts of 11% and 7%, respectively.
Revenues, operating profits, and operating margins grew in all of Disney's segments, except for consumer products. Leading the way was a robust showing from the company's studio, led by the DVD releases of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Cars.
Yes, it's a welcome anomaly. You will rarely find a studio with the top two box office draws in any given year, much less put out the DVDs in the same quarter. However, it bears noting that Disney has blown the roof off Wall Street's estimates during every single quarter since Bob Iger came in as CEO. That's enough for a round of applause until proven mortal.
And while we're on the subject of foolish mortals, let's hear it for Disney's resort business. Occupancy rates at Disney World's hotels came in at an impressive 85%, with Disneyland occupancy checking in at a jaw-dropping 94%.
To put that achievement in perspective, family resort specialist Great Wolf Resorts (Nasdaq: WOLF) has punched in with occupancy rates of 53% and 50% in the December quarters of 2004 and 2005, respectively.
Attendance dipped by 5% in Disneyland, but that was offset by a 3% spike in turnstile clicks at Walt Disney World and an overall 7% gain in per capita guest spending. Regional operators like Six Flags (NYSE: SIX) and Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) run mostly seasonal parks, so one can't stack Disney's performance against its amusement park peers, though it held up well if you look at the calendar year of 2006.
So where does Disney go from here? Higher, most likely. The third Pirates installment should be a blockbuster, despite a crowded slate of summer releases. The company is looking to generate about $25 million through selling video content on Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes, and Disney sees that as incremental revenue that isn't chewing away at its DVD business.
Disney isn't providing guidance to analysts, but it's just as well. Wall Street has been aiming too low for a couple of years now. Will the current quarter render Iger mortal? Perhaps. ABC didn't have the Super Bowl this year and the hot DVDs from the December quarter have moved on. But until analysts finally get it right, I'll still lay my Disney dollars on the line and bet that the Mouse will earn its ears again.
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz enjoys taking his family to amusement parks of all sizes, all over the country. He owns shares in Disney and units in Cedar Fair. He is also part of the
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