Can Comcast Spoil The Disney-Fox Party?

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Ahead of the opening bell this Tuesday, we see a surprisingly high number of companies reporting Q1 (calendar) earnings both this morning and after the close this afternoon. True, most of the big names of the quarter have already brought forth their results, but companies like Marriott (NASDAQ:MAR) , TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) and especially Disney (NYSE:DIS) report after the bell today.

Speaking of Disney, what had looked like a done deal regarding its annexing of 21st Century Fox’s (NASDAQ:FOX) film, TV and international assets is currently up for debate, as Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) reportedly gears up to sweeten the pot with its own offer for the creative businesses. The original Disney-Fox deal was for $52 billion; Comcast is looking to secure as much as $60 billion — all cash — to swoop in for those assets itself.

Comcast was already in the mix somewhat, beforehand: it had put in a bid to buy British communications company Sky Broadcasting, or at least the 2/3 of the company Fox doesn’t already currently own. But one important component to all this is whether the proposed AT&T (NYSE:T) -Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) merger passes regulatory appeal; while it does not appear to subvert any merger precedents, plenty of resistance for this deal — not least of all from the White House — have clouded this path for months.

Time, as they say, will tell. The morning prior to Disney’s fiscal Q2 earnings report, the Zacks consensus expects $1.68 per share on $14.23 billion for the quarter, representing growth of 12% on the bottom line and 6.7% on the top. Disney has beaten earnings estimates in 3 of the last 4 quarters for a modest trailing 4-quarter average earnings surprise of 4.7%. For more on DIS’s earnings, click here.

Before Tuesday’s open, Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) put up beats on both top and bottom lines for its Q1 earnings report, posting 14 cents per share that beat consensus by 2 cents (a penny higher year over year) on sales of $1.98 billion that outpaced the $1.84 billion analysts were expecting. This is only the second earnings beat for Dean in the past 4 quarters; ahead of its report, the company carried a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), but had a Zacks Style Score (Value-Growth-Momentum) of A. For more on DF’s earnings, click here.

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

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Time Warner Inc. (TWX): Free Stock Analysis Report

The Walt Disney Company (DIS): Free Stock Analysis Report

TripAdvisor, Inc. (TRIP): Free Stock Analysis Report

AT&T Inc. (T): Free Stock Analysis Report

Comcast Corporation (CMCSA): Free Stock Analysis Report

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Marriott International (MAR): Free Stock Analysis Report

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