REUTERS/KCNANorth Korean leader Kim Jung UnThe recent hack on Sony, and the company's subsequent decision to delay the release of its movie "The Interview" is turning into a costly headache.
Film financiers are surely on edge.
But Wall Street's industry analysts aren't phased, and they don't seem to believe this the hacks will be a problem for the media industry overall.
Weeks have passed since news of the hacks broke. Yet, analysts haven't made any major adjustments to earnings expectations for the media industry during the fourth quarter or the full year, according to FactSet's John Butters.
Since November 28, analysts estimates for Q4 earnings have been unchanged. Further, analysts estimate media industry earnings will fall by a mere 0.07% in 2015.
"In terms of ratings, analysts have become slightly more negative on this industry since November 28," writes Butters. "The overall percentage of Buy ratings declined to 53% from 54% during this time frame, while the percentage of Holdings increased to 43% from 42% during this time frame. The percentage of Sell ratings remained unchanged at 3%."
So bottom line is: Wall Street's lack of response reflects that they don't really see the recent events as a major issue for the media industry overall.
FactsetSony's stock price (green) seems to be driven by other forces.Over the past several weeks, Sony has been the subject of cyber attacks that have shut down the company's computer system and revealed employees' personal information.
New information has been continuously leaked by a group that calls themselves "Guardians of Peace." It's unclear who's in the group, but the FBI has blamed North Korea.
The hackers threatened to carry out terrorist attacks against movie theaters, and included the line "Remember the 11th of September 2001" in that message.
Since then, Sony has canceled the December 25th release of the "The Interview" - a move that was criticized by Obama last Friday.