Jim Cramer: Why Disney stock is down despite earnings
The lack of clarity on how to quantify an "uptick" in terms of the increased number of ESPN subscribers is hurting Disney (NYSE: DIS) stock, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Wednesday.
"We don't know what uptick means," said Cramer on " Squawk on the Street ."
Operating income for the cable networks slid 5 percent to $1.2 billion "due to a decrease at ESPN," the company said. Still, Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC on Tuesday that subscriber growth has picked up at ESPN since the quarter ended.
"We've actually seen an uptick recently in ESPN subs. We did reference, in candor, in the August call, that we had seen some sub erosion, and that in fact was the case. But the last few months, in particular, have been encouraging," Iger said.
Disney reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.63 per share compared with consensus estimates of $1.45. Revenue also beat estimates, thanks in part to the success of the latest "Star Wars" movie. However, shares were under pressure Wednesday on continued worries about declines in profit at ESPN and other Disney-owned channels.
"If they said listen [subscriber growth] is X, which is much better than you think, that could have helped, but we didn't get that," said Cramer.
— CNBC's Jacob Pramuk and Peter Schacknow contributed to this report.
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