With a tumultuous 2004 fading away in the rear-view mirror Disney
Earnings would have come in at just $0.33 a share if it weren't for a favorable charge relating to its sale of Disney Stores to The Children's Place
So what happened? The one thing that Wall Street did get right was assuming that the company's studio division was going to have a rough period stacked up against last year's period, which benefited from the home video and DVD releases of Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King: Platinum, and Pixar's
The same double negative occurred in the company's consumer products segment, with Disney Stores being run by new hands over the typically lucrative holiday selling season -- though Disney passing on its namesake stores did help improve the subsidiary's margins.
So it was the company's theme parks and media networks that proved to be the worthy workhorses, as has been the case since ABC started percolating after a surprisingly strong fall lineup. In sum, Disney's setting itself up for a spectacular year with ad rates no doubt inching higher at the magnetic ABC, while Disneyland's 50th anniversary chain-wide celebration promises to be just the ticket for speedier turnstile clicks.
While the company's major network rivals General Electric
Mad about the mouse? Then check out some of these other recent Disney headlines:
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has owned shares of Disney since the 1980s and is at the parks often. He also owns shares of Pixar. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.