Disney+ Adds 14.4 Million Subscribers in Q3, Reaches 152 Million

The Walt Disney Company posted $21.5 billion in revenue and an earnings per share of $1.09, beating analyst expectations

Disney Earnings
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Disney+ added 14.4 million subscribers in the Walt Disney Company’s fiscal third quarter that ended on June 30, the company announced in its earnings report Wednesday, raising the total number of global subscribers across all of Disney’s platforms to 221 million and Disney+ specifically to 152.1 million.

Disney had an especially strong Q3 compared to analyst expectations, reaching $21.5 billion in revenue compared to a Yahoo Finance analyst average estimate of $20.68 billion, as well as an earnings per share of $1.09 cents versus an analyst estimate of $1.00 EPS. Analysts had further expected that Disney’s global subscribers could grow by roughly 10 million, and the company noted strong performance not just from Disney+ but also via attendance at its theme parks and box office on the studio end.

Disney+ also unveiled its ad-supported tier for the service that will launch on Dec. 8 at a price of $7.99 a month. The ad-supported option will be available individually for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ and as part of the Disney bundle that includes all three services.

Year over year, subscribers for ESPN+ have risen 53% and now has 22.8 million subscribers, while Hulu also rose at a slower rate of 8% year over year to have 46.2 million subscribers. Domestically, Disney+ has 44.5 million subscribers, a jump of 17% year over year. And while the company’s direct-to-consumer segment saw its revenue rise 19% to 5.1 billion, Disney+ also had an increase in operating loss of $1.1 billion, up from $0.8 billion the prior year.

Disney shares surged nearly 6% in after-hours trading as investors rallied behind the earnings results. They closed during the regular session at $112.43 and are up more than 20% in the past month.

“We had an excellent quarter, with our world-class creative and business teams powering outstanding performance at our domestic theme parks, big increases in live-sports viewership, and significant subscriber growth at our streaming services,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in a statement. “We continue to transform entertainment as we near our second century, with compelling new storytelling across our many platforms and unique immersive physical experiences that exceed guest expectations, all of which are reflected in our strong operating results this quarter.”

It’s been a busy quarter for Disney on the consumer front and in the executive suite. CEO Bob Chapek in June had his contract extended three years until 2025, and this came after uncertainty about his future and after the surprise ouster of TV chief Peter Rice earlier that same month. What’s more, in April, the state of Florida passed a bill that would end the special tax district privileges the company sees at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, exemptions that allow Disney to self-govern itself in its parks and that it has had in place since 1967.

But Disney also released two major Marvel movies that are among the highest grossing films of the year last quarter, including “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.” They also released the Pixar movie “Lightyear,” which struggled at the box office. On Disney+, the service got a big boost from its Star Wars series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which boasted the return of Ewan McGregor as the Jedi from the prequel trilogy of films, as well as two other Marvel series, “Moon Knight” and “Ms. Marvel.”

Chapek has previously stated his goal of reaching between 230 million and 260 million global Disney+ subscribers on its platforms by September 2024.

Disney Parks had a huge quarter, with revenues rising to $7.4 billion up from $4.3 billion the prior year over year, continuing a trend of surprise attendance at theme parks both domestically and abroad not just for Disney but for Comcast and their Universal Studios parks, as reported last month. Finally, Disney’s linear networks also had a big quarter in part due to the NBA Finals taking place this summer.

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