the bottomline
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday reported that its net income fell dramatically in the three-month period that ended in June when it most of its theme parks were shuttered and theatrical movie releases were postponed.
Still, its bottom-line results were better than analysts expected, although its revenue fell short of forecasts.
Disney has soared to success with the breadth of its media and entertainment offerings, but now it’s trying to recover after the coronavirus pandemic pummeled many of its businesses. It was hit by several months of its parks and stores being closed, cruise ships idled, movie releases postponed and a halt in film and video production.
For quarter that ended June 27, the company based in Burbank, California, posted a loss of $4.84 billion, or $2.61 per share, compared to a profit of 79 cents in the prior year quarter. Adjusted to exclude one-time items such as restructuring costs and impairment charges, it net income came to 8 cents per share. Analysts expected an adjusted loss of 64 cents per share, according to FactSet. (AP)
NEW YORK:
One of the nation’s biggest telemedicine providers will spend more than $18 billion to stoke an approach to care that grew explosively during the pandemic and recently received an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Teladoc Health Inc. plans to dive deep into managing the health of patients with diabetes and high blood pressure with a cash-and-stock deal for Livongo Health that’s expected to close later this year.
Telemedicine involves the remote care of patients, often through a live video connection. Millions of patients were forced to try it for everything from routine care to checkups with specialists after COVID-19 shut down much of the economy earlier this year.
Teladoc said late last month that its total visits tripled in the recently completed second quarter to 2.8 million, and revenue grew 85%. (AP)
NEW YORK:
Comcast’s NBCUniversal is having company-wide layoffs, a spokeswoman confirmed.
The layoffs affect less than 10% of the company’s employees, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. NBCUniversal has 35,000 full-time employees.
The coronavirus is hurting NBC’s business. In its most recent quarter, revenue slid 25% to $6.1 billion as the coronavirus pandemic shut down Hollywood and live sports. Advertisers have pulled back from TV, movies are delayed as theaters are largely shut down and theme parks were closed for most of the quarter. NBC reopened two of its parks, Universal Studios Japan and its Universal park in Orlando, Florida, in early June. (AP)