Disney stock has slipped 12% since it reported earnings last week — another 2% on Tuesday alone. The first-ever quarterly subscriber loss at Disney+, when analysts had expected at least a small amount of growth, didn’t reassure investors, even if Disney was showing it could get more revenue per customer.
Returning CEO Bob Iger is faced with complex challenges on multiple fronts. Disney must continue boosting the ad-supported tier of Disney+ to reignite subscription growth and alternative revenue sources, wrestle with disappointed Disney+ Hotstar users in the high-upside Asia Pacific region and determine a future course of action with Hulu. At the same time, Iger must reestablish strong theatrical windows to maximize revenue, stave off the ongoing decline of linear television and hope the ongoing writers’ strike ends before impacting its content pipeline following massive disruption from the early pandemic.