By Eric J. Savitz
Disney shares are gaining ground in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the entertainment giant posted better-than-expected profits for its December quarter.
Disney also provided earnings guidance for the September 2024 fiscal year that was well ahead of Wall Street estimates. The company said it is boosting its semi-annual dividend by 50%, while setting a new $3 billion stock buyback plan.
In a separate announcement, Disney said it had agreed to invest $1.5 billion in Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite. Disney and Epic "will collaborate on an all-new games and entertainment universe that will further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences," the company said.
Disney shares were up 6.1% in after-hours trading following the report.
For the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 30, Disney posted revenue of $23.5 billion, flat compared with a year ago, and slightly below the Wall Street consensus forecast as tracked by FactSet of $23.8 billion. Adjusted profits were $1.22 a share, ahead of the Wall Street consensus forecast of $1.01.
Disney said it now expects to post profits for fiscal 2024 of $4.60 a share, well ahead of Wall Street's $4.29 per-share consensus. The company said it continues to see full-year free cash flow of about $8 billion. Disney said it is on track to meet or exceed its target of $7.5 billion in annualized cost savings by the end of fiscal 2024.
The company continues to expect to reach profitability in its streaming business by the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year, it said.
Disney increased its semi-annual dividend to 45 cents a share, giving the company a yield of about 0.8%. The company also said it plans to repurchase $3 billion of stock in fiscal 2024.
Disney's core Disney+ subscribers fell 1.3 million in the quarter to 111.3 million, but the company said it expects between 5.5 million and 6 million net adds in the second quarter, including 7.5 million in the U.S market, with a modest decrease in international markets.
Late Tuesday, just ahead of the earnings report, Disney's ESPN unit, Fox Corp., and Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled plans to create a paid streaming service to share sports assets. The companies said the new platform would launch this fall.
The service will cover professional and college sports, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer. The streaming platform, which so far has no name, will be offered via a new app, allowing consumers to bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu, and Max.
On the company's earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that ESPN would also be offered as a standalone streaming service in the fall of 2025. Iger said Disney continues to look for potential "content and marketing partners" for ESPN, and that he expects to have more to announce about that effort in the near future.
Iger also said the new sports bundle should attract viewers who aren't interested in paying up for a full "big bundle" cable or satellite TV service. Asked about the risk that the sports joint venture will accelerate cord-cutting, Iger said it shouldn't affect his revenue from sports, trading off one from another. "For us, it's very low risk," he said.
Revenue in Disney's entertainment segment was just under $10 billion, down 7%, and below the Wall Street consensus of $10.4 billion. Sports revenue, mostly ESPN, was $4.8 billion, up 4%, and ahead of expectations at $4.6 billion. Experiences revenue, including theme parks, was $9.1 billion, up 7%, and slightly ahead of estimates.
Iger said Disney is "off to a great start" on the ad-supported version of Disney+, and that progress so far has "exceeded every metric." He said the company already has more than 1,000 advertisers globally. Iger also said the company has begun a crackdown on password sharing that should help boost subscriber growth for Disney+ over time.
Disney said it plans to release Moana 2, a sequel to its popular Hawaiian animated film, in 2024.
The company said that Disney+ would start airing a new version of the popular Taylor Swift's Eras Tour film on March 15, with additional songs not in the original version of the movie.
In one more ESPN announcement, Iger said that former University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban would be joining the network as an on-air commentator.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 07, 2024 17:42 ET (22:42 GMT)
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