Disney has suffered a major fall in revenue and earnings, even below the adjusted market expectations in some areas. Despite an initial negative market reaction to this news, shares have rebounded to the initial shock in after market trading as investors get used to a Covid-19 world and its effects on Disney’s core business.
Here is a summary of the numbers:
- Diluted Earnings per share (EPS) fell to only 8 cents from $1.34 in the prior same quarter.
- Revenue of $11.78 billion, vs $20.26 billion in equivalent quarter.
- Net GAAP loss for the quarter of $4.84 billion.
- Media Networks: $6.56 billion, down 2%
- Parks, Experiences and Products: $983 million, down 85%
- Studio Entertainment: $1.74 billion, down 55%
- Direct-to-Consumer and International: $3.97 billion, up 2%
Disney has now 100 million paid subscribers across its streaming services, which include Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
During the earnings call they revealed that as of 3rd August they had 60.5 million paid subscribers on Disney+
“Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, we’ve continued to build on the incredible success of Disney Plus as we grow our global direct-to-consumer businesses,” CEO Bob Chapek said. “The global reach of our full portfolio of direct-to-consumer services now exceeds an astounding 100 million paid subscriptions — a significant milestone and a reaffirmation of our DTC strategy, which we view as key to the future growth of our company.”
In terms of Star Wars content, the earnings call confirmed the October launch for Season Two of The Mandalorian.
The bulk of the news in the call centred on Disney’s plan to launch Mulan as a paid for direct to consumer offering for a premium rental price of $29.99 on Disney Plus, bypassing cinemas. Disney also revealed that they plan to discuss a lot more about Disney Plus and its expansion into more Direct To Consumer offerings at the next Earnings Call, set for November. Although CEO Bob Chapek attempted to reduce expectations of what the Mulan move could mean for the long term by adding that Disney wants to “learn from it and see the actual number of transactions” rather than have a clear business strategy move.
- Hardcover Book
- Soule, Charles (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 400 Pages - 01/05/2021 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
