By George Glover
Earnings from The Walt Disney Co. will give investors a sense of how the entertainment company's most profitable business is holding up, amid worries that President Donald Trump's tariffs could cause U.S. consumer spending to plummet.
Disney is set to post its results for the March quarter ahead of the opening bell. It's expected to report an adjusted profit of $1.19 a share on revenue of $23.09 billion, according to a FactSet poll. A year ago, it reported a profit of $1.21 a share on revenue of $21.8 billion.
Shares could do with a boost: They have plunged 17% this year, compared with a 3.9% drop in the benchmark S&P 500 index. The stock is lagging behind rivals Netflix and NBCUniversal parent Comcast, which are up 27% and down 8.2%, respectively, in 2025.
Investors see Disney as more exposed to tariffs than its peers. That is because the company made about 60% of its profit over the last fiscal year from its experiences business, which includes theme parks. If the levies drive up inflation, consumers could start spending less on big-ticket items such as vacations, which would weigh on the House of Mouse's top and bottom lines.
Analysts are predicting revenue for the experiences segment will have climbed 3.9% from a year ago to $8.7 billion. If that number comes in higher-than-expected, expect Disney shares to rally.
Investors will also be hoping for another quarter of growth for Disney's streaming business, which turned its first-ever profit in 2024. They could also zero in on revenue for the company's studios segment, which is reeling from a failed live-action Snow White remake . The film cost nearly $300 million to produce, but flopped amid a backlash about its casting and use of CGI "dwarfs."
Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 06, 2025 07:19 ET (11:19 GMT)
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