Walt Disney misses quarterly profit estimates

Walt Disney Co missed Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit on Tuesday, offering the first assessment of the damage wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic on the media and entertainment giant's global business.

The health crisis started battering businesses across Disney's global portfolio by mid-March, forcing the closures of its theme parks and putting television and film production on hold as theaters remained shut. The company's direct-to-consumer and international segment, which houses streaming platform Disney+, reported an operating loss of $812 million, compared with an operating loss of $385 million a year earlier.

Operating income from its parks and consumer products business more than halved to $639 million from $1.51 billion a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Disney earned 60 cents per share, below analysts' average estimate of 89 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Overall revenue rose 21% to $18.01 billion, above analysts' average estimate of $17.8 billion.