Monday, April 27, 2009

DreamWorks Animation Watch

Now with extra-crispy Add On.

DreamWorks Animation's sole animated feature for the year continues to do brisk business, but there have been rumblings in some quarters that grosses are not as robust as they could have been.

Given all that, stock analysts are remarkably upbeat regarding DWA's earnings report, due out tomorrow.

Analysts, on average, expect DreamWorks Animation ... to see revenue grow 34 percent to $209 million, with earnings up 61 percent to 45 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

The company's small number of releases, generally about two per year, means that big swings in quarterly earnings from year to year are common ...

... The company's small number of releases ... means that big swings in quarterly earnings from year to year are common.

Some analysts have trimmed their estimates for DWA's cash flow, along with projections regarding its stock price. Me, I've been impressed with DWA's success under its challenging business model: Produce high-grossing features, one after the other, or fall off the financial high wire.

Tomorrow the stats come out, and we'll know how accurate the financial prophets are ...

Add On: Apparently, the DWA cash flow is doing okay:

DreamWorks Animation's strong first-quarter earnings report is getting rave reviews on Wall Street today: The company’s shares have soared 25%, and brokerage Goldman Sachs moved the stock back to its "buy" list.

DreamWorks late Tuesday said earnings last quarter more than doubled, to $62.3 million, or 71 cents a share, far exceeding analysts’ mean estimate of 45 cents.

... [T]he Glendale studio benefited from strong box-office and DVD sales from its "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" sequel -- exactly as CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg had predicted in late February, when the company otherwise disappointed Wall Street by reporting a 45% drop in fourth-quarter earnings.

DWA is on a roll, no doubt about it.

Add On Too: When you're the Master of the Universe, you're the Master of the Universe ...

DreamWorks Animation said [CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg] has extended his employment contract another four years.

Katzenberg's pact was set to expire at the end of the year, but he'll remain CEO through April 22, 2014, with much of his pay dependent on DWA's stock price ...

And ...

DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will be honored at the 35th annual Saturn Awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, which will present him with its first-ever Visionary Award for his efforts on behalf of 3-D film.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to say this, but if Monsters vs Aliens is underperforming, then I say GOOD. It's horrible-looking, uninspired and infested with overused character voices provided by overrated actors (Yes, I'm looking at you, Seth Rogen, and I'd like to add that I'm thrilled that your other movie, Observe and Report, is ALSO underperforming. Next time don't treat date-rape as a joke, you *sshole!)

Anonymous said...

Re: Anonymous 8:52... Uh, Steve I think you need to call security.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 8:52... = Nikki Finke?

Anonymous said...

I'm no Seth Rogen fan and definitely don't care for his lame films either but i did enjoy the dreamworks film and tried to ignore the fact that rogen was one of the secondaries.

Anonymous said...

The film was fun and entertaining and didn't pretend to be anything but what it was. Good fun.

Anon. #1 should be prescribed a Xanax before viewing filmed entertainment for the safety and security of the general public.

Anonymous said...

The film was horrible. A sitcom stretched out to an hour and a half. The stereoscopic viewing was wretched and gave me a headache on top of the one the film was already giving me.

Jeremy said...

MVA was fine. It's doing very well for a March release. Thing is, they invested way too much into it for a March release. It's the most aggressive marketing campaign for a DWA film ever, except perhaps Bee Movie. It's supposed to be the leader of the new 3D wave with all its new tech and inflated 3D ticket price. It's programmed to maximize the effects with a simple and rehashed (ah, inspired by 50s movies) plot. But it isn't doing any better than Ice Age or Horton.

Plus its oversea appeal is less than previous DWA films like Shrek and KFP. It will be lucky to cross $200 million domestic and will struggle to reach $200 million oversea. It still make tons of money and profit but not exactly what JK wanted. That's how while doing not bad, it's a disappointment.

Anonymous said...

It was supposed to be released months later-more of a summer release-but it was moved so as not to bump against Avatar-which then proceeded to move its date back.

Site Meter