RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
The blockbusters rolling out of the Walt Disney Company have not kept it from missing analyst expectations this week. That sent Disney's stock down and pulled the Dow with it. NPR's Nina Gregory reports on whether this means the Magic Kingdom has lost its magic.
NINA GREGORY, BYLINE: The mouse house is home not just to Mickey and Minnie but to other profitable friends like Chewie and Han Solo.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS")
HARRISON FORD: (As Han Solo) Chewie, we're home.
PETER MAYHEW: (As Chewbacca, vocalizing).
GREGORY: While the movie studio has been breaking records left and right, other divisions have not fared as well, mainly television, a large part of Disney's business.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SPORTSCENTER")
CHRIS KELLEY: This is "SportsCenter."
GREGORY: For ESPN, cord-cutting has cut into its long success, as has cord-shaving. That's when you keep your cable but just less of it. But unlike similar companies, Disney doesn't offer analyst guidance, projections about what it thinks business will be like. So when analyst projections don't match company outcomes, the market responds. Analyst Brian Wieser covers the company for Pivotal Research Group.
BRIAN WIESER: What we're seeing here is - if you looked at the short-term one quarter outcome, it looks bad. But if you just look at the underlying trends of the business, was there anything meaningfully different that matters, in terms of how you look at valuation of the company? Not really.
GREGORY: Investors will have plenty of movies, toys and even a new theme park next month to help them decide if it's just a blip. Nina Gregory, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
