Walt Disney Company (DIS.US) shows strong performance in Q3 financial report! Wall Street's major firms reiterate their bullish ratings.

After the Walt Disney Company (DIS.US) announced its third quarter performance, three Wall Street banks continued to maintain their bullish ratings on the stock, with a general consensus that Walt Disney Company's Q3 financial report showed positive performance. The financial report showed that Walt Disney Company's Q3 revenue increased by 2% year-on-year to $23.65 billion, slightly below the market's expectation of $23.73 billion, marking the first time since May 2024 that it did not meet market expectations. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.61, a 16% increase year-on-year, beating the market's expectation of $1.46. However, revenue from traditional TV networks and sports programs did not meet market expectations, overshadowing the strong performance of the company's theme parks and streaming media business. In terms of profits, the theme park division's profit grew by 13% in the quarter, the streaming media business had a profit of $346 million, while profits from traditional entertainment TV declined by 28% and Walt Disney Company Studios incurred a loss. In addition, Walt Disney Company predicted an annual earnings per share of $5.85, higher than the previous expectation of $5.75. Bank of America Corp reiterated its "buy" rating on Walt Disney Company with a target price of $140. Bank of America stated that Walt Disney Company's Q3 financial report performance was "steady". However, the bank added that the company's Q4 earnings guidance "may be lower than market expectations," which may be the reason for the stock price pressure following the financial report release. Bank of America believes that Walt Disney Company's important announcements, including the acquisition of NFL Network, the deal with WWE, and the launch date of ESPN, are "encouraging." JPMorgan reaffirmed its "hold" rating on Walt Disney Company with a target price of $138. JPMorgan stated that Walt Disney Company's Q3 financial report performance was "strong," with the profitability of the experience business, direct-to-consumer (DTC) business, and sports business exceeding its expectations. The bank pointed out that in the DTC business, the growth in operating profit was mainly driven by subscription price increases, growth in subscriber numbers, decreases in program and production costs, and reduced marketing expenses, which offset the impact of rising technology and distribution costs and declining advertising revenue. The bank added that Walt Disney Company's upward revision of full-year earnings per share expectations is "largely in line with investor expectations." Evercore ISI reaffirmed its "outperform market" rating on Walt Disney Company with a target price of $140. Evercore ISI stated that Walt Disney Company's Q3 financial report was "healthy," citing the strong profitability of the DTC business and theme park business. The bank noted that the net additions of new users for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ in the DTC segment were consistent with expectations; although Disney+'s average revenue per user (ARPU) exceeded expectations, Hulu SVOD's ARPU was "lower than expected"; and the performance of the experience business segment was "very encouraging."