Disney's earnings signal good news for the economy

Disney (DIS) did not have an outstanding quarter, but then again, no one expected it to. For its fiscal first quarter, which ended June 27, earnings per share came in at $0.51 compared with $0.66 in the same period a year ago. Revenue fell by seven percent to $8.6 billion and net income was off 26 percent to $954 million.

Economists are endlessly interested with Disney's theme park results. They seem to think if people have the money to go to Disney's parks, they can afford plenty of other things. If the theory is true, the economy is not so badly off. Disney's theme park revenue fell only nine percent to $2.75 billion in the quarter. Disney could not cut costs enough to keep operating profit in the unit at a reasonable level so it fell by 19 percent to $521 million.