Disney Stock Fell 3.75% in Morning Trading after Warning about Rough Road Ahead for Streaming
Disney Stock Fell 3.75% in Morning Trading after Warning about Rough Road Ahead for Streaming.
The $Walt Disney Co.(DIS)$ added more streaming subscribers than expected in the wake of problems at rival Netflix Inc., but warned that it faces weakness in the months to come after the unexpected surge.
Disney reported the addition of 7.9 million Disney+ subscriptions in its fiscal second quarter for a total of 137.7 million subscribers, and more than 205 million total streaming subscribers to services that also include ESPN+ and Hulu. Those totals were easily higher than analysts expected -- the average forecast called for 135.1 million Disney+ subscribers and 204.4 million total streaming customers, according to FactSet -- and shares initially moved higher in after-hours trading despite an earnings and revenue miss.
Those gains turned around roughly an hour into the extended session, however, just as Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy ticked off increased costs Disney faces and warned that Disney may have hurt its subscriber growth in the second half with its strong performance in the first half of its fiscal year.
After adjusting for restructuring costs, amortization and other effects, the company reported earnings of $1.08 a share, compared with adjusted earnings of 32 cents a share a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of $1.19 a share on revenue of $20.05 billion.
"Our strong results in the second quarter, including fantastic performance at our domestic parks and continued growth of our streaming services -- with 7.9 million Disney+ subscribers added in the quarter and total subscriptions across all our DTC offerings exceeding 205 million -- once again proved that we are in a league of our own," Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek said in a statement announcing the results.
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