I found 35 Big Leisure and Entertainment Corps, which had Pretax Income or Loss of at least $100 mil in the most recent quarter.
My definition of Big Leisure and Entertainment Corps is probably a bit broader than that of most people.
These 35 Big Leisure and Entertainment Corps have had a superlative earnings run in the most recent 6 quarters.
These 35 Big Leisure and Entertainment Corps generated Pretax Earnings growth of a spectacular 48% in annual 2010 over 2009.
Then, this earnings growth decelerated to a still superb 34% in the 1Q 2011.
And so what happened in the most recent 2Q 2011? This earnings growth goes back into the acceleration mode to 39% growth.
Below here are the Pretax Income (PTI) of these 35 Big Leisure and Entertainment Corps in the 2Q 2011, along with a comparison with the prior year’s 2Q of 2010:
.....................................................2Q.........2Q............
...................................................2011......2010.....Increase...
....................................................PTI........PTI.....Amount....%
...................................................(in millions of dollars).........
Walt Disney....................AZ.......2,508.....2,336.......172......7%
News Corp......................NY.......1,354........904 .....450.....50%
DirecTV..........................CA.......1,106.........897......209.....23%
Time Warner...................NY.........950........877........73......8%
Viacom...........................NY.........899........685.......214.....31%
Time Warner Cable..........NY.........665........559.......106.....19%
CBS(1).............................NY.........630........289.......341....118%
DISH Network..................CO.........563........414.......149.....36%
Las Vegas Sands...............NV.........543.........87.......456....524%
Activision Blizzard...........CA.........469........301.......168.....56%
Starbucks........................WA.........410........318........92.....29%
Discovery Comm(2).........CO.........398........151.......247....164%
Priceline.com...................CT.........317........166.......151.....91%
Liberty Media(3)..............CO.........316........154.......162....105%
Coach...............................NY........311........299........12.......4%
Harley Davidson...............WI........292........197........95.....48%
Wynn Resorts, Ltd(4)........NV........268..........91.......177....195%
Electronic Arts..................CA........230..........93.......137....147%
Carnival(5)........................FL.........204........251.......(47)...-19%
Marriott............................MD........201........184........17......9%
Expedia.............................WA........196........176........20.....11%
Darden Restaurants............FL.........186........157........29.....18%
Sothebys............................NY........178........127........51.....40%
Whole Foods Market..........TX..........142........110........32.....29%
Starwood Hotel&Resorts....NY.........134........101........33.....33%
Cablevision Systems(6)......NY.........129........119........10......8%
Tiffany...............................NY.........126.........93........33.....35%
GameStop..........................TX..........125........115........10......9%
Intl Game Technology........NV.........122.........96........26.....27%
Netflix................................CA.........111..........73........38.....52%
Petsmart............................AZ.........107..........88........19.....22%
Sirius XM Radio(7).............NY.........100.........49........51....104%
CC Media Holdings.............TX..........(47)......(115).......68.....59%
MGM Resorts(8)................NV.........(123)......(237).....114.....48%
Caesars Entertainment(9)..NV.........(228).....(240).......12......5%
Total all 35.....................................13,892...9,965...3,927....39%
(1)CBS 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Debt Extinguishment.
(2)Discovery Communications 2010 excludes Loss on Debt Extinguishment.
(3)Liberty Media 2011 PTI excludes Gains on Financial Instruments. Its 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Financial Instruments and Gains on Asset Disposals.
(4)Wynn Resorts, Ltd 2011 PTI excludes large Donation to the University of Macau.
(5)Carnival 2011 PTI includes substantial increase in Fuel Costs.
(6)Cablevision Systems 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Debt Retirement.
(7)Sirius XM Radio 2011 PTI excludes Merger Gain. Its 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Debt Extinguishment.
(8)MGM Resorts 2011 PTL excludes monstrous $3.5 bil gain on MGM China Increase in Fair Value Transaction. Its 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Property transactions.
(9)Caesars Entertainment 2011 PTL excludes Asset Write Down. Its 2010 PTL excludes Asset Impairments.
The really curious thing is that these exceptional Big Leisure and Entertainment Corp earnings of the most recent 6 quarters has all happened mostly under the radar screen.
There is something seriously wrong with this scenario, where Big Leisure and Entertainment Corps have made out like bandits economically in the most recent 6 quarters, all on the backs of US citizen customers, most of whom are suffering economically.
It shows the dominance of Big Corps, and their lobbyists, over the common man, both working stiffs.....and those wishing to become working stiffs.
Big Corps and their lobbyists, with their awesome power, are able to convince the US Government to enact policies that are in their interests, while at the same time, they deceptively assert that these policies will trickle down and help the US economy. Pure absurdity, and also pure reckless governing by the US Government.
For instance, these Big Corps really like US Government policies such as first-year 100% tax expensing. And they even convinced the US Government that it is not necessary to put in rules that require them to hire more full-time workers in order to get this massive tax largesse, which substantially increase their earnings, but also results in a serious short-term drain to the US Treasury financial coffers.
And then these Big Corps and their lobbyists intensively push for an 85% tax free repatriation of their foreign earnings, under the disguise of saving the US economy. What pure self-serving folly.
These Big Corps say "just trust us, we know what's best for the US economy". Give me a break. The US Government, and the American people, continue to be hustled by these Big Corps and their lobbyists.
For these Big Leisure and Entertainment Corps to succeed to the maximum, they need an economic environment precisely like the present, where their employees have modest wages, where these employees are afraid to lose their jobs, and thus work extremely hard and are very loyal, and where replacement employees are readily available on the cheap.
So, under the radar screen, these Big Corps successfully convince the Republican leadership, in both the US House and the US Senate, to stop every job-creating initiative by the Obama Administration.
