Earning Report: Attendance remains level with last year, revenue down

[fosse76]

Yup.

You don't make money without investing money, but you can move it around in a shell game.

I remember reading an article when Disney first started extending the Buy 4, get three days free promotion. The article was a warning to Disney to not keep extending their promotions because people will come to expect them in the future. How many people here wait until the "free dining" promotion codes are released before they book? Or how many book during the free dining period in hopes that once the codes are released they will call and change their reservation?

The real problems with today's corporation is that even with a profit, the first time it drops they consider it a failure and begin cost-cutting. Disney made over a PROFIT of $500 million...as far as I'm concerned, companies shouldn't be able to lay-off employees if they are still profitable. They still made a profit. No excuse. It's just greed.

 

[Computer Magic]

I remember reading an article when Disney first started extending the Buy 4, get three days free promotion. The article was a warning to Disney to not keep extending their promotions because people will come to expect them in the future. How many people here wait until the "free dining" promotion codes are released before they book? Or how many book during the free dining period in hopes that once the codes are released they will call and change their reservation?

The real problems with today's corporation is that even with a profit, the first time it drops they consider it a failure and begin cost-cutting. Disney made over a PROFIT of $500 million...as far as I'm concerned, companies shouldn't be able to lay-off employees if they are still profitable. They still made a profit. No excuse. It's just greed.

I've always talked about a fair profit. One should invest to the greater of the company and not pocket those profits for greed.

 

[jt04]

I remember reading an article when Disney first started extending the Buy 4, get three days free promotion. The article was a warning to Disney to not keep extending their promotions because people will come to expect them in the future. How many people here wait until the "free dining" promotion codes are released before they book? Or how many book during the free dining period in hopes that once the codes are released they will call and change their reservation?

The real problems with today's corporation is that even with a profit, the first time it drops they consider it a failure and begin cost-cutting. Disney made over a PROFIT of $500 million...as far as I'm concerned, companies shouldn't be able to lay-off employees if they are still profitable. They still made a profit. No excuse. It's just greed.

Without a reasonable expectation of a decent return you soon would have no investors and you could say goodbye to WDW as you have known it.

My beef is using WDW as a cash cow to prop up underperforming parts of the company. I'd rather see those entities survive or fail on their own.

 

[jt04]

I've always talked about a fair profit. One should invest to the greater of the company and not pocket those profits for greed.

Please

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Please

:shrug:


Honestly, if I were to invest in any company, it would be one I care about. One that I want to see do well.:shrug:

 

[jt04]

:shrug:


Honestly, if I were to invest in any company, it would be one I care about. One that I want to see do well.:shrug:

The idea of someone enforcing a "fair profit" scares me. TWDC would be nowhere if someone had dictated a "fair profit". There certainly would not be a WDW as nobody would have been willing to invest in such a project if it was regulated in it's financing.

If a company becomes too greedy a competitor will soon emerge to provide a better value product. The market hedges against greed. Simple as that.

 

[Computer Magic]

The idea of someone enforcing a "fair profit" scares me. TWDC would be nowhere if someone had dictated a "fair profit". There certainly would not be a WDW as nobody would have been willing to invest in such a project if it was regulated in it's financing.

If a company becomes too greedy a competitor will soon emerge to provide a better value product. The market hedges against greed. Simple as that.

Great, so as a Disney stockholder, I should set back and watch UNI beat out Disney because Disney is not reinvesting in itself as greed takes over. My stock goes down and I loose money. Car company became greedy and look where there are.

Walt succeeded because he reinvested his earnings into quality ventures. He didn't sit back and stash all his earnings. He wasn't greedy. He earned a fair profit and turn his cartoon mouse into a gold mine that others are chipping away at.

I agree about the cash cow being WDW. You have to do this to an extent, every corp does this. The issue is never feeding the cow so it continues growing.

I never said any outside outsource should "enforce". This should be done by the board making sure the CEO is acting on the behalf of the stakeholders.

 

[jt04]

Great, so as a Disney stockholder, I should set back and watch UNI beat out Disney because Disney is not reinvesting in itself as greed takes over. My stock goes down and I loose money. Car company became greedy and look where there are.

Walt succeeded because he reinvested his earnings into quality ventures. He didn't sit back and stash all his earnings. He wasn't greedy. He earned a fair profit and turn his cartoon mouse into a gold mine that others are chipping away at.

I agree about the cash cow being WDW. You have to do this to an extent, every corp does this. The issue is never feeding the cow so it continues growing.

I never said any outside outsource should "enforce". This should be done by the board making sure the CEO is acting on the behalf of the stakeholders.

But they are reinvesting and unlike any other entertainment company in the current downturn. It is a fallacy here on these boards to say Disney is not investing much of it's profits. See DCA. See DAS. See FL's new plans. See WDW's infrastructure. See Disney live action features. Lots going on. That is why Disney will be one of the leaders should the economy turn around.

I'm not saying there is no room for improvement but they did beat expectations and I just don't see the so-called "greed". And neither, it appears, do many Disney customers.

 

[TalkingHead]

But they are reinvesting and unlike any other entertainment company in the current downturn. It is a fallacy here on these boards to say Disney is not investing much of it's profits. See DCA. See DAS. See FL's new plans. See WDW's infrastructure. See Disney live action features. Lots going on. That is why Disney will be one of the leaders should the economy turn around.

I'm not saying there is no room for improvement but they did beat expectations and I just don't see the so-called "greed". And neither, it appears, do many Disney customers.

Profit in the company's Parks and Resorts unit = $521 million
Profit for the company = $954 million

And you don't see the "so-called 'greed'"?

That's hard to do.

 

[jt04]

Profit in the company's Parks and Resorts unit = $521 million
Profit for the company = $954 million

And you don't see the "so-called 'greed'"?

That's hard to do.

You do know it's a global company right? You have to compare apples to apples. If they don't announce some new park projects for WDW now that the DVC build out seems largely completed, and with the secondary issue of potter, then I will have to agree with you. I'm not worried at all.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Thanks one and all.

I am just trying to put a more worldly and proper context on the earnings call. Looking back at the previous YTD and previous year's quarter isn't reasonable when you have 5 straight years of record profits.

There's just no need to think that the ship is sinking. (IMO of course.)

As a stockholder, I think DIsney has been as responsible as they can under the current circumstances.

 

[DVCOwner]

Profit in the company's Parks and Resorts unit = $521 million
Profit for the company = $954 million

And you don't see the "so-called 'greed'"?

That's hard to do.

Not hard to do at all. I put money in a bank and I get interest on my savings. I put money in company and I want profit from that company. How many billions of dollars do people have invested in Disney and how much is the return on investment. How much is the cost of a share of disney and what is the return on that one share. If it is less than other poeple will pull thier money out of Disney and invest in other companies. Profit is earned not for the company, but for the investors.

 

[TalkingHead]

Not hard to do at all. I put money in a bank and I get interest on my savings. I put money in company and I want profit from that company. How many billions of dollars do people have invested in Disney and how much is the return on investment. How much is the cost of a share of disney and what is the return on that one share. If it is less than other poeple will pull thier money out of Disney and invest in other companies. Profit is earned not for the company, but for the investors.

It was a little hard to figure out what you're saying. Are you talking about the generous $.30-35 dividends? The profit isn't going to be passed along to you, the stockholder unless you're looking at the price of stock and hoping to buy low, sell high. Like I said in my earlier post, $900+ million profit for the company is cause for concern according to some analysts because it's down from $1+ billion. There's something intrinsically wrong about that.

In theory profit may be earned for the investor, but in practice it's only an excuse for bad corporate behavior.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

Its all on what you compare it to. You cant always have record year after record year.

One cannot expect operating revenue of P&R to be $3 BILLION dollars every quarter.

Exactly!! Unfortunately, it was the "let's set record revenues each year" goals of the past that have driven the costs of going to WDW up so much in such a short period of time. Hopefully, management learns from this and leaves prices alone. I do not think price increases are a good idea when revenue is already down. (Although they still made a profit which, as others have said, is wonderful.) I predict (and any toad could, i do not claim to be a financial genius) that if WDW raises hotel and ticket prices, next year you may see a steeper drop in revenue. You want to keep folks coming. To do this, help keep it affordable.

 

[Computer Magic]

But they are reinvesting and unlike any other entertainment company in the current downturn. It is a fallacy here on these boards to say Disney is not investing much of it's profits. See DCA. See DAS. See FL's new plans. See WDW's infrastructure. See Disney live action features. Lots going on. That is why Disney will be one of the leaders should the economy turn around.

I'm not saying there is no room for improvement but they did beat expectations and I just don't see the so-called "greed". And neither, it appears, do many Disney customers.

The FL is happening because of HP. Except for the DVC so is everthing infrastructure project at WDW. but that is really another topic.

My main question is your comment about "neither do many Disney customers". Do you know first hand what all Disney customers think or an opinion.

 

[jt04]

The FL is happening because of HP. Except for the DVC so is everthing infrastructure project at WDW. but that is really another topic.

My main question is your comment about "neither do many Disney customers". Do you know first hand what all Disney customers think or an opinion.

If "customers" thought they were being taken advantage of they would find somewhere else to go for vacation. Though they are spending less because of economic uncertainty, they are still showing up.

And the FL expansion and other projects will happen because Disney wants to give people even more reason to visit. It has more to do with keeping the WDW resort rooms full and undiscounted than competing with Universal, though that is also a factor.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

Case in point, I was at Cedar Point a few weeks ago. While the walkways seemed to have moderate traffic, every queue was a ghost town. Nearly all the massive, wrap-around queues they have at their major rides, that are designed to absorb their notorious 1-2 hour lines, were roped off. It was entrance straight up the ramp to load on every ride. I rode 2 of the major coasters with waits of 5 and 10 minutes respectively. The longest line I heard of talking w/ guests was 30 minutes for one of the newest, premier attractions.

Oh yeah, this was a Saturday in July.

Props to CP though - the park was absolutely spotless, and every attraction I saw was open and working. All the shows had full schedules, and the park had a late closing.



I'm having a hard time feeling great about attendance being level with last year also. Does everyone forget that last year at this time we were actually in the same economy, if not worse than we are now, and gas was in the $4-$5 range?

Given this year's sick discounts, I am absolutely shocked that attendance is not up 10% at WDW like it is at DL.

I would venture to say that the reason you see a 10 percent spike in DL's attendance is the fact that the economy has hit so hard in California. Because of this, I think you see many more people staying home for "staycations" rather than spending money they do not have in other locales.

 

[Computer Magic]

If "customers" thought they were being taken advantage of they would find somewhere else to go for vacation. Though they are spending less because of economic uncertainty, they are still showing up.

And the FL expansion and other projects will happen because Disney wants to give people even more reason to visit. It has more to do with keeping the WDW resort rooms full and undiscounted than competing with Universal, though that is also a factor.

It will be interesting seeing WDW keeping resorts full. They have addeded a lot of DVC. The next 3 years will tell the truth about repeat visits to Disney. I for one am finding hard to repeat after this year. I'm not seeing the value and as I said have started looking at other destinations. What keeps me, is Disney history, but how long will that last. Adventure by Disney is a prime example, look at how those trips are being watered down for profit. The prices hasn't changed but the customer satifactions has went down. Search other Disney forums that have a ABD section.

I think Pixar was the best thing to happen to Disney as Pixar exec have it right.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

If "customers" thought they were being taken advantage of they would find somewhere else to go for vacation. Though they are spending less because of economic uncertainty, they are still showing up.

And the FL expansion and other projects will happen because Disney wants to give people even more reason to visit. It has more to do with keeping the WDW resort rooms full and undiscounted than competing with Universal, though that is also a factor.

I agree. I know to some extent there is some competition factor between WDW and USF. But, Disney already has a steady base of loyal fans and a solid reputation for their parks; therefore, I agree with you that Disney has to add more attractions to keep people coming. There is reallu no need to be concerned about what USF is doing because the two parks are, really, two different animals offering two different experiences. Not to mention, as you said, Disney just needs to keep their already loyal fan base coming. Just continue to support the reputation that is Disney. My family and I, for example, have gone to WDW nearly every years for the past 10 years. In thos e10 years, we have not set foot in USF or Sea World. Sometimes I think about it, but we are paying for the Disney experience and once we parl the car, I am not driving until I leave. I love what Disney is and offers and, as you say, they just need to keep it up. I think they could do better in maintaining the parks as they were in the past. BUT, that is a different post. (Sorry for the thread drift, could not help myself)

 

[jt04]

I agree. I know to some extent there is some competition factor between WDW and USF. But, Disney already has a steady base of loyal fans and a solid reputation for their parks; therefore, I agree with you that Disney has to add more attractions to keep people coming. There is reallu no need to be concerned about what USF is doing because the two parks are, really, two different animals offering two different experiences. Not to mention, as you said, Disney just needs to keep their already loyal fan base coming. Just continue to support the reputation that is Disney. My family and I, for example, have gone to WDW nearly every years for the past 10 years. In thos e10 years, we have not set foot in USF or Sea World. Sometimes I think about it, but we are paying for the Disney experience and once we parl the car, I am not driving until I leave. I love what Disney is and offers and, as you say, they just need to keep it up. I think they could do better in maintaining the parks as they were in the past. BUT, that is a different post. (Sorry for the thread drift, could not help myself)

Exactly. And I will be shocked if something is not announced at D23 for 2011. 2010 is pretty much all about the new Space Mountain and construction walls going up elsewhere in my opinion.