Disney Shares Jump As Company Tops Subscriber, Earnings Expectations In Its Q1

deadline.com:

Disney beat Wall Street expectations for earnings, revenue and streaming subscriber growth in its fiscal first quarter, sending its beleaguered shares up 7% in after-hours trading.Flagship streaming service Disney+ reached 129.8 million subscribers, ahead of analysts’ consensus expectation for 125.4 million.Earnings per share jumped to 63 cents from two cents a year ago and revenue climbed 34% to $21.8 billion.

Both metrics beat analysts’ outlook.Disney shares rallied during the regular trading day, gaining 3% to $147.31, but they have declined by more than 20% over the past year as investors have grown restless with the streaming story.In addition to Disney+, the company said Hulu’s on-demand and live subscriber base topped 45 million for the first time, rising 15% to 45.3 million.

Of the total, 4.3 million was for the company’s internet-delivered pay-TV bundle, Hulu + Live TV.ESPN+ topped the 20-million mark, reaching 21.3 million, up a striking 76% from a year ago.Operating income at Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution fell 44% to 808 million, reflecting a range of higher costs, from sports programming to marketing and technology.

Price increases for the core trio of streaming services, helped provide some relief, the company said.The company’s other division, Parks, Experiences and Products rode a major bounceback compared with the Covid doldrums of 2020, when most parks were still shuttered and cruise ships stuck in port.