| For those of us in the cruise industry, its | | | | and pricing are up) we saw from Royal Caribbean. |
| important to follow all companies in the vacation | | | | Are consumers choosing the cruise vacation over |
| space as this helps answer the key question: Are | | | | the land/resort vacation? It could be the case |
| consumers spending on vacations again? | | | | that, more and more, the "value" of a cruise |
| Well, according to the latest Disney results its a | | | | vacation is resonating with recession-wary |
| mixed bag. Overall, Disney's earning surpassed | | | | consumers. Or maybe consumers just like really, |
| most analysts' expectations. But when you dive | | | | really big ships (exhibit A: Oasis of the Seas). |
| into the earnings, most of the good results were | | | | Seriously though, the discounting is a big issue. |
| driven by the media division (ESPN, Disney | | | | Getting consumers out of this mindset is not |
| channels) and the studio business. Parks and | | | | going to be easy, for any vacation company. |
| resorts (which includes Disney Cruise Line ) | | | | What's your take? |
| reported flat revenues (from last year) and profit | | | | Faraz |
| was down 2%. | | | | Earnings numbers for you finance hounds: |
| One issue Disney's CFO highlighted was decreased | | | | Dow member Walt Disney Co. (DIS $30) reported |
| spending and ticket prices due to discounting. | | | | fiscal 1Q EPS ex-items of $0.47, compared to the |
| They hope to "eventually make [their] way out of | | | | $0.39 that Wall Street analysts had expected, |
| discounting," but gradually. For the current quarter | | | | with revenues increasing 1% year-over-year (y |
| bookings are down 10%, but "guests continue to | | | | y) to $9.7 billion, versus the Street's forecast, |
| book their rooms closer to their travel date". | | | | which called for revenues to come in at $9.6 billion. |
| So, what's the verdict? Our take is folks continue | | | | Revenues at its media networks rose 7% y/y to |
| to take vacations but are not spending as much | | | | $4.2 billion, its parks and resorts revenues came in |
| when they are on vacation. Consumers are also | | | | flat versus last year at $2.7 billion, while its studio |
| expecting big discounts and are thus waiting to | | | | entertainment unit saw its revenues dip 1% to |
| book their travel closer to the travel date. | | | | $1.9 billion. |
| Contrast this with the positive earnings (bookings | | | | |