Disney Reports Earnings: Iger’s Crystal Ball

Disney reported earnings after the bell last Thursday, beating Wall Street’s expectations with Net income up 18% on 4% higher revenue.  Most interestingly on the Q3 conference call is that it was Disney’s media networks that drove growth.  While a secular ratings decline is occurring across all of the major networks, Disney was able to grow operating income for the media division by 26% during the third quarter of 2009.  Though Disney CEO Bob Iger is quick to point out that advertising revenues will continue to decline, Disney will still invest heavily in content creation.  Iger believes that the Company is on the right path toward developing alternative revenue streams.