Disney earnings miss across the board with slowing streaming growth
Disney character Mickey Mouse is seen above the entrance at Disneyland Paris during the 25th anniversary of the park, in Marne-la-Vallee, near Paris, France.
Benoit Tessier | Reuters
Disney reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday after-the-bell. The company missed Wall Street estimates across the board, sending the stock down more than 4% in after-hours trading.
Earnings per share: 37 cents adj. vs 51 cents expected, according to RefinitivRevenue: $18.53 billion vs $18.79 billion expected, according to Refinitiv
The company added 2.1 million Disney+ subscribers to reach a total of 118.1 million, in line with Disney’s estimates. During the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in September, CEO Bob Chapek said the segment’s growth had “hit some headwinds” and that Disney expected to add “low single-digit millions” of streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter.
However, Wall Street seemed more bullish than Chapek. StreetAccount estimated the company would report 125.4 million total Disney+ subscribers as of the fourth quarter, suggesting 9.4 million new subscribers since the third quarter.
Average monthly revenue per subscriber for Disney+ came in at $4.12, down 9% year over year. The company attributed the dip to a higher mix of Disney+ Hotstar subscribers compared with the prior-year quarter.
Disney’s average revenue per user has shrunk in recent quarters because of the lower price points for its Disney+ and Hotstar bundle in Indonesia and India. The service has lower average monthly revenue per paid subscriber than traditional Disney+ in other markets, pulling down the overall average for the quarter.
Overall, Disney reported 179 million subscriptions across Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu at the end of the fourth quarter. Revenue for the direct-to-consumer segments increased 38% to $4.6 billion.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.