Disney reported fiscal first-quarter earnings on Tuesday and it beat on both the top and bottom lines. Shares fluctuated after hours, but were mostly within 1% of the stock’s price at close.
Here are the key numbers:
- Earnings per share: $1.53 per share vs. $1.44 per share expected, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv
- Revenue: $20.86 billion vs. $20.79 billion expected, per Refinitiv
The results mark Disney’s first earnings report since the launch of its new streaming service, Disney+, last November. In the earnings release, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the service has “exceeded even our greatest expectations.”
Disney+ now has 26.5 million subscribers, which is up from the 10 million sign-ups it registered for the service after it launched November 12. Disney said the average monthly revenue per paid Disney user was $5.56.
However, it’s not clear how many, if any, of those subscribers were added through free trials with Verizon and other partners. Disney defines a paid subscriber as “a subscriber for which we recognized subscription revenue.” Customers who got Disney+ through free trials may not re-subscribe once the trial is up.
Disney also did not update its guidance for the service. The company previously forecast between 60 million and 90 million subscribers by the end of its 2024 fiscal year.
“Well, it’s obviously a very good start, but we are not updating our guidance today,” Bob Iger, CEO of Disney told Julia Boorstin on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday. “We will say something on the call about subs between the end of the quarter, the end of December and where we are as of yesterday. But we are not updating our guidances.”
ESPN+ now counts 6.6 million subscribers and Hulu has 30.4 million total subscribers. Hulu reported average monthly revenue per paid subscriber of $59.47 during the quarter. Meanwhile, ESPN+ reported average monthly revenue per paid subscriber of $4.44, which was a 5% decline from the year ago period.
Disney blamed the decline on a “shift in the mix of subscribers” to its bundled subscription package of Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, which has a lower average retail price per service compared to the average retail price of each service on a standalone basis.
Revenue for Disney’s Parks, Experience and Products segment grew 8% year over year to $7.4 billion during the quarter, while operating income increased 9% to $2.3 billion. The company said operating income growth was partially offset by lower results at its international parks and resorts.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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