Disney’s streaming service’s result in Q2 kept analysts’ expectation low. However, Disney+ beats estimates and reports a surge in its subscribers in the third quarter.
According to Tech Crunch, Disney+ recorded over 100% year-over-year jump in its subscribers growth. In the third quarter, Disney’s paid subscribers reached 116 million, around 114.5 million higher than Wall Street’s estimate.
Disney also topped expectations across the board, with $17.02 billion in revenue versus the $16.76 billion expected, and earnings per share of 80 cents, above analysts’ expectations of 55 cents. Even Disney Parks were back in business.
This comes after Disney reported a lackluster second-quarter earnings. The economy’s re-opening impacted Disney+ numbers, as people finally had more to do than just sit at home, and vaccinations become more widely available. Then, Disney+ only reached 103.6 million subscribers, when analysts were expecting 109.3 million, and the stock slipped as a result.
Disney’s other streaming services, Hulu and ESPN+, also saw a significant rise in the business.
Hulu’s subscription video service jumped from $11.39 to $13.15 year-over-year and its Live TV service (+SVOD) grew from $68.11 to $84.09. ESPN+ also grew from $4.18 to $4.47.
Subscriber growth also increased across the services, with ESPN+ growing 75% year-over-year to reach 14.9 million customers and total Hulu subscribers growing 21% to reach 42.8 million.
“…Our direct-to-consumer business is performing very well, with a total of nearly 174 million subscriptions across Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu at the end of the quarter, and a host of new content coming to the platform,” noted Disney CEO Bob Chapek in a press release.
Across Disney’s direct-to-consumer business, revenues grew 57% to $4.3 billion and its operating loss declined from $0.6 billion to $0.3 billion, thanks to improved results from Hulu, including subscription growth and higher ad revenues.
Read also: Reddit Users Join Alliance to Ignore Robinhood IPO
Follow and join us on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to be part of the trader community in Asia
