Published: Tuesday, February 3, 2026 · 9:22 AM | Updated: Tuesday, February 3, 2026 · 9:22 AM
📊 183 views
Shares in Disney fell 7% in pre-market trading after the company reported earnings that beat forecasts but issued a cautious outlook for short-term growth in its theme park segment.
The media and entertainment group on Monday reported net income of $2.4bn (£1.75bn), or $1.34 per share, on revenue of $26bn in the fiscal first quarter. Adjusted earnings of $1.63 per share came in ahead of Wall Street expectations.
Revenue from Disney’s streaming business rose 11% during the quarter, while its film studios benefited from a series of holiday season hits, including Avatar: Fire and Ash and Zootopia 2. The company said higher marketing costs for new releases offset some of the increase in theatrical revenue.
Disney said it expected to deliver double digit earnings growth and repurchase $7bn of its own shares in 2026.
Its Experiences division, which includes theme parks and resorts, posted record quarterly revenue of $10bn.
Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: Markets lifted as mining stocks gain on precious metals rollercoaster
US parks, including Disney World, recorded 8% growth in operating income in the quarter ending December 31, with attendance rising 1% and per capita spending up 4%.
The cruises business also performed strongly, helped by higher passenger numbers and the addition of a new ship, the Disney Destiny – the seventh in the group’s fleet.
Despite the strong performance, Disney warned that operating income at its parks and cruises division could see “modest” growth in the current quarter, citing unfavourable factors including weaker demand from foreign tourists at US parks.
Shares in Palantir rose more than 10% in pre-market trading after the data analytics group beat Wall Street estimates for the fourth quarter, as demand surged for its artificial intelligence software from businesses and the US government.
Revenue increased 70% from $827.5m a year earlier. For the full fiscal year, sales at the Denver-based company totalled $4.48bn.
US revenue from government customers climbed to $570m, while commercial revenue rose to $507m, both exceeding estimates compiled by FactSet.
Net income amounted to more than $608m, or 24 cents per share, compared with $79m, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier.
Palantir, which sells software and data tools to businesses and government agencies including the US Department of Defense, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security, has benefited from growing demand for AI systems and enthusiasm from retail investors.
Alex Karp, Palantir’s chief executive, defended the company’s surveillance technology amid criticism of its work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Read more: Bank of England set to hold interest rates at 3.75% but cuts loom
“It should indeed be uncontroversial that the single most effective means of guarding against incursions into our private lives is to invest in the development of a technical platform that makes possible constraints on government action and investigation through granular permissioning capabilities,” Karp wrote in a letter to shareholders.
Last year, ICE awarded Palantir a nearly $30m contract to build ImmigrationOS, a system designed to make it easier to draw together information about immigrants from across government databases.
US listed shares in Dutch semiconductor maker NXP fell 6% in pre market trading after the company reported higher fourth quarter sales and forecast further revenue growth, but investors were disappointed by the performance of its automotive segment.
NXP reported profit of $455m, or $1.79 a share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from $495m, or $1.93 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding one time items, adjusted earnings were $3.35 per share, ahead of the $3.31 expected by analysts, according to FactSet. Revenue rose 7% to $3.34bn, beating analysts’ forecasts of $3.31bn.
Growth in NXP’s automotive segment, which accounts for more than half of group revenue, slowed to 5% year on year from 6% in the third quarter. The division generated $1.8bn of revenue in the quarter, below expectations of $1.9bn.
For the first quarter, NXP forecast revenue of $3.15bn at the midpoint and diluted earnings per share of $4.21. That compares with consensus estimates of $3.09bn in revenue and $2.95 per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Bitcoin edged higher on Tuesday after the world’s largest cryptocurrency slipped below $80,000 for the first time since April 2025.
The digital currency was trading at $78,682.88 at the time of writing, having earlier fallen as low as $74,286 before paring some of its losses. Bitcoin has dropped about 12% over the past seven days, erasing more than $200bn from the cryptocurrency’s market value.
The price fell below the $80,000 mark over the weekend, extending a sharp pullback after a strong rally last year.
Bitcoin and other major digital tokens climbed through much of last year, partly driven by expectations that the Trump administration would ease regulatory barriers and help integrate cryptocurrencies more fully into mainstream finance.
However, investors are weighing the potential implications of Kevin Warsh being selected to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, a nominee markets view as hawkish.
With bitcoin’s next support level at $73,000, “current flows suggest sentiment has shifted meaningfully”, 10X Research strategists wrote in a note.
The firm’s strategists pointed to flow and positioning data, which indicates “investors are not yet positioned to buy the dip”.
In London, shares in Irn-Bru maker AG Barr rose by almost 5% as it revealed deals worth more than £50m to snap up soft drinks rivals Fentimans and Frobishers as it said it was set for a double-digit hike in annual profits.
The Scottish firm told shareholders it completed a roughly £38m deal to buy Fentimans on Monday, in a move funded through a combination of cash and debt.
It also closed a deal at the end of its financial year to January to buy Devon-based juice business Frobishers for £13m.
Cumbernauld-based AG Barr unveiled the acquisitions as it reported a “strong” financial year, with increases in sales and profitability, which it said had put it on track for double-digit growth in underlying pre-tax profits for the year to January 31.
Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio
Annual revenues rose to around £437m, up 4% on the previous year, and earnings were also helped by ongoing cost savings and investment in its supply chain.
Euan Sutherland, chief executive of AG Barr, said: “Our top and bottom-line performance for full-year 2025-26 is in line with expectations, and importantly we have laid strong foundations for future growth.
“We enter 2026-27 with good momentum in our core brands and from the introduction of exciting new products.
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
MORE IN INSIDE CRYPTO
Bitcoin price steadies but fresh fears suggest slide to $52k
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2026 · 10:12 AM
This 1 Quantum Computing Rumor Is Making Investors Sell Their Bitcoin. Don’t Fall for It
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2026 · 9:20 AM
