Shares of Walt Disney Co. (DIS) are up 7% after the entertainment company announced that its
profit in the second quarter rose 50% from a year earlier, and that its number of streaming
subscribers grew to 221 million worldwide, surpassing competitor Netflix (NFLX) for the first
time.
The Mouse House said that its Disney+ streaming platform added 14.4 million subscribers in the
April through June period, 45% more than analysts had expected. The company reaffirmed its
target that Disney+ will achieve profitability by 2024.
With the goal of profitability in mind, Disney announced price increases for streaming services
Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, and provided details on a new version of Disney+ that will include
advertisements.
Starting on December 8 this year, the current ad-free version of Disney+ will cost $3 more a
month in the U.S. and Canada. The ad-supported version of Disney+ will not change in price.
Streaming revenue climbed 19% to $5.1 billion U.S. in Q2 from a year earlier.
Disney reported that its revenue across all business segments totaled $21.5 billion U.S., a 26%
increase from a year earlier. The company’s operating profit surged 50% to $3.6 billion U.S.
Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products unit reported quarterly revenue of $7.4 billion U.S.,
up from $4.3 billion U.S. a year earlier, and an operating profit of $2.2 billion U.S., up from $356
million U.S. a year ago when most of the company’s theme parks were operating at reduced
capacity and Disney Cruise Lines was completely shutdown.
Disney’s 22 domestic hotels had an occupancy rate of 90% in the second quarter, the company
said.
Disney also confirmed that it is spending $30 billion U.S. on new streaming content this year
and plans to release a slate of new films and series in coming months, including exclusive
programs such as “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law;” “Andor,” a Star Wars spin-off; and a live-action
“Pinocchio” film starring Tom Hanks.
Prior to today, Disney’s stock was down 28% this year at $112.43 U.S. per share.
