The Walt Disney Company, long the darling of Wall Street, has finally hit some headwinds. Earnings per share of $1.35 missed the estimated target of $1.75, causing shares to fall 2.5% after hours.

Revenue of $20.25 billion missed estimates of $21.47 billion which was part of the reason for the EPS miss. Parks & Resorts revenue increased by 7% from $6.1 billion to $6.6 billion. However, operating income for Parks & Resorts only increased by 4% from $1.65 billion to $1.72 billion.

Most notably, operating income at Walt Disney World and Disneyland decreased, whereas Disneyland Paris and Consumer Products increased. Attendance at domestic parks was also down by 3% but paid attendance was up, driven by a decrease in Annual Pass visitation due to Annual Pass block outs. Disney CEO Bob Iger said guests stayed away from Disneyland because they were worried about crowding and it was too expensive.

Even though attendance at domestic parks was down, guest spending was up by 10%.

Looking at the rest of the company, Studio revenue was up by 33% compared to 2018 Q3 to $3.8 billion. Media Networks saw a growth of 21% to $6.7 billion.

The Direct-To-Consumer segment saw operating losses increasing to $553 million from $168 million. Disney CFO Christine McCarthy stated that the DTC segment would see operating losses of around $900 million for Q4 as they ramp up for release in November.

Cable Networks saw revenue increase to $4.5 billion, a 24% growth over Q3 in 2018.

Derek Sterling