Shares in publisher THQ have fallen sharply in the last two days, following news that animation studio Pixar will not be releasing its new film Cars until summer 2006.
Pixar’s own shares were also hit by the news, which means it will not release a new theatrical film in 2005, and were down 6.4 percent on Wednesday, but THQ’s shares were also affected by a valuation downgrade by UBS.
"We believe that consensus estimates include at least $90 million in revenue contribution from the game in (the third quarter of fiscal 2006), and we expect THQ to face a significant revenue shortfall relative to consensus should the game be delayed," said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter. THQ's shares were off 6.3 percent on Wednesday.
THQ has benefited enormously from its relationship with Disney, and in particular Pixar, over recent years with their last game,
Finding Nemo, shipping 6 million units since its release in 2003. The company’s roster of other titles should be enough to plug the gap, but as Pachter points out they are likely to have a more difficult time than expected until 2006.
