I just saw this on money.cnn.com:
Disney 3Q falls, warns on 4Q
Entertainment conglomerate sees decline in 4Q rather than forecasted gain; edges 3Q estimates.
August 1, 2002: 4:40 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Walt Disney Co. reported a sharp drop in fiscal third-quarter earnings that met past Wall Street expectations for the period, and it warned on current-period results.
The entertainment conglomerate earned $343 million, or 17 cents a share, excluding special items in the period ended June 30. That was inline with the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call, and down from an adjusted $610 million, or 29 cents a share, that it earned on that basis in the year earlier period.
Including special items the company reported net income of $364 million, or 18 cents a share, down from an adjusted $527 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier.
The company, which owns broadcaster ABC, cable network ESPN as well as its movie studios and theme parks, saw revenue fall about 3 pecent to $5.8 billion from just under $6.0 billion a year earlier. That put it below First Call's revenue forecast of $5.9 billion.
The company said that softness in the travel industry specifically and in the overall economy leads it to believe fiscal fourth-quarter results will be below the year-earlier EPS of 13 cents. First Call's forecast had called for EPS to rise to 16 cents, with a range of estimates from 12 to 20 cents.
Shares of Disney (DIS: Research, Estimates), the last component of the Dow Jones industrial average to report results for a period ending in June, lost 90 cents to close regular trading Thursday at $16.83
not a good sign for Disney, but we know they will pull through!