- Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) is down 3.3% today -- a case of selling the news of early record performance from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, or BTIG's downgrade of Disney today?
- "Even the Force cannot protect ESPN," Rich Greenfield says in downgrading Disney to Sell.
- Despite strength from the blockbuster film, Greenfield thinks consensus earnings are too high for fiscal 2017 and "far too high" for fiscal 2018.
- ESPN paid too much for rights packages in order to block out competitors like Fox Sports and NBC, and got too many of them, he says. BTIG Resarch expects fiscal 2017 cable operating income to actually decrease overall Y/Y.
- If The Force Awakens doesn't crest $2B in worldwide gross, Disney will miss the firm's 2016 earnings estimates as well.
- Rosenblatt Securities analyst Martin Pyykkonen disagrees, saying ESPN downside is outweighed by record performance from Star Wars.
- And in the sort of news that makes some roll their eyes, Moody's says the film's release is credit positive for Disney.
- Previously: Star Wars arrives amid sky-high expectations (Dec. 18 2015)
- Previously: Goldman re-crunches numbers, raises estimates for 'Star Wars' (Dec. 16 2015)
- Previously: All eyes on tickets, but for Disney, 'Star Wars' may be about the merch (Dec. 16 2015)