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Investing.com – Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) reported Thursday fourth-quarter results that topped analysts’ estimates, as well as strong demand for its streaming services.
Walt Disney shares gained 7.21% in after-hours trade following the report.
Walt Disney announced earnings per share of $-0.2 on revenue of $14.71B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $-0.73 on revenue of $14.15B.
Walt Disney shares are down 6% from the beginning of the year, still down 11.71% from its 52 week high of $153.41 set on November 26, 2019. They are under-performing the Dow Jones which is up 1.9% from the start of the year.
The narrower-than-expected loss comes as its theme parks business churned out results that were not as bad as feared following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Parks, experiences and products revenue for the quarter decreased 61% to $2.58 billion, compared with estimates for $2.23 billion.
“The most significant impact was at the Parks, Experiences and Products segment where since the second quarter of the fiscal year, our parks and resorts have been closed or operating at significantly reduced capacity and our cruise ship sailings have been suspended,” Disney said in a statement.
Studio entertainment revenue for the quarter decreased 52% to $1.6 billion, while direct-to-consumer & international revenues for the quarter increased 41% to $4.85 billion.
The company’s streaming service Disney+ racked up 73 million users in the quarter, topping estimates for 65.5 million, while ESPN subscribers of 10.3 million topped estimates of 9.2 million.
The ongoing strength in its streaming business has validated the company’s move to double down on content following its announcement last month to streamline the organization.
“The real bright spot has been our direct-to-consumer business, which is key to the future of our company, and on this anniversary of the launch of Disney+ we’re pleased to report that, as of the end of the fourth quarter, the service had more than 73 million paid subscribers – far surpassing our expectations in just its first year,” the company said.
Stay up-to-date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing.com’s earnings calendar
