Walt Disney Co. (DIS) has reported strong quarterly financial results and better-than-expected subscriber growth for its signature streaming platform.
The entertainment giant announced fiscal second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.45 U.S., which beat Wall Street’s forecast of $1.20 U.S.
Revenue in the period came in at $23.62 billion U.S., which topped the consensus forecast among analysts of $23.14 billion U.S. Sales were up 7% from a year earlier.
Disney, which previously said it expected Disney+ subscribers to decline during the quarter, reported a 1.4 million increase in subscriptions to its flagship service.
Disney+ now has 126 million monthly subscribers worldwide. Wall Street had expected Disney to report 123.35 million Disney+ subscribers at quarter’s end.
Revenue for its direct-to-consumer business that includes its streaming services rose to $6.12 billion U.S., up 8% from the same period a year ago.
Higher prices and increased subscriber numbers led to the growth, said management in Disney’s earnings release.
Revenue for the entertainment segment, which includes traditional TV networks and films, increased 9% from a year ago to $10.68 billion U.S.
While recent films “Snow White” and “Captain America: Brave New World” underperformed at the box office, ticket sales from 2024 releases “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Moana 2? managed to offset those disappointments.
Revenue for Disney’s sports segment, which includes the ESPN TV network, rose 5% to $4.53 billion U.S. on higher advertising revenue.
The company’s domestic theme parks saw revenue rise 9% to $6.50 billion U.S., while international park revenues dipped 5% to $1.44 billion U.S.
Looking ahead, Disney now expects full-year earnings of $5.75 U.S. a share, an increase of 16% compared to 2024.
Previously, the company said it expected high-single-digital earnings growth this year.
Disney’s stock has declined 17% year-to-date to trade at $92.17 U.S. per share.
