Variety: Disney+ Core Subs Top 120 Million as Streaming Biz Profit Grows, ‘Inside Out 2,’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Drive Film Results

Story from Variety:

Disney ended its 2024 fiscal year with 122.7 million Disney+ Core paid subscribers, an increase of 4.4 million subs over the September quarter three month period — better than expected.

In reporting fiscal Q4 2024 results that beat Wall Street forecasts, Disney’s overall streaming business stood out as profitability increased with operating income at $321 million, compared with a loss of $387 million in the year-ago period. That came after the Mouse House’s direct-to-consumer biz posted its first operating profit (of $47 million) the prior quarter. Disney also projected roughly $1 billion in operating profit from its Disney+ and Hulu entertainment streaming businesses for fiscal 2025.

During a call with investors later Thursday, CEO Bob Iger revealed additional info regarding Disney’s ad-supported (AVOD) streaming offering amid the October price hike at Disney+, noting that approximately 60% of all new subscribers are ad-supported: 37% of all subs in the U.S. and 30% globally. “So the pricing that we recently put into place, which is increased pricing, was actually designed to move more people in the AVOD direction, because we know the ARPU, and interest in it from advertisers in streaming has grown,” Iger said.

When the call moved on to the topic of assets in India, Iger’s mic was picked up and he could be heard saying, “I don’t know if I was supposed to disclose those AVOD numbers.” Variety has confirmed the numbers are accurate. Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to request for comment on the moment.

Disney saw its box office results soar during the quarter that ended Sept. 30 as summer blockbusters Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” and Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” drove $316 million in operating income for its content sales and licensing segment.

“Our renewed creative strength is a result of the extensive work we began two years ago to restore creativity to the center of the company. We are extremely proud of our performance at the summer box office, as we became the first studio to cross $4 billion globally in 2024,” Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston said in commentary released with the quarterly earnings. Following the success of “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” they added, “We are encouraged by this momentum in our studio business going into the holiday season with the upcoming releases of ‘Moana 2’ later this month and ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ in December.”

Disney reported $22.6 billion in consolidated revenue for fiscal Q4, up 6% on the top line, and net income of $460 million (versus $264 million in the year-earlier period). That translated to adjusted earnings per share of $1.14. Wall Street had forecast EPS of $1.10 on $22.48 billion in revenue, according to analyst consensus data provided by LSEG. Disney’s free cash flow was $4 billion for the quarter.

In its Thursday earnings results, Disney provided financial guidance on EPS for not only its fiscal 2025, but also 2026 and 2027, noting the company is “confident in the long-term prospects for the business and believe we are well positioned for growth.” However, Disney said it is expecting a “modest decline” in Disney+ Core subs next quarter, which is when it will see the impact from its October price hike.

Disney’s stock was up more than 9% in pre-market trading Thursday on the quarterly results and three-year EPS guidance.

Alongside its quarterly financials, Disney announced that it closed its joint venture with Reliance Industries in India to merge its with Star and Hotstar assets with Viacom18’s TV and streaming business, including JioCinema. The joint venture, 36.84% of which is owned by Disney, is valued at approximately $8.5 billion.

Disney’s overall entertainment division Q4 revenue, which includes its linear networks like ABC, streaming business and content sales and licensing, was up 14% year over year to $10.8 billion (vs. $9.5 billion). Sales in the sports division (primarily made up of ESPN and ESPN+) were flat at $3.9 billion. Experiences revenue, which includes theme parks, video games and consumer products, ticked up 1% to $8.2 billion.

Linear networks revenue dipped 6% ($2.5 billion), down 5% in the U.S. on lower affiliate revenue and ad sales and falling 12% internationally. Streaming revenue was up 15% ($5.8 billion) and streaming ad sales rose 14% for the September period. Content sales and licensing rose 39% ($2.6 billion) on Disney’s impressive box office results.

Disney+ subscribers in the U.S. and Canada increased 2% from the previous quarter to 56.0 million and international customers, excluding Disney+ Hotstar, were up 5% to 66.7 million. Disney+ Hotstar subscribers rose 1% to 35.9 million. Hulu subscribers reached 52 million (4.6 million Live TV + streaming customers and 47.4 million streaming only).

“This was a pivotal and successful year for The Walt Disney Company, and thanks to the significant progress we’ve made, we have emerged from a period of considerable challenges and disruption well positioned for growth and optimistic about our future,” Iger said in a statement.

In fiscal Q4, “we saw one of the best quarters in the history of our film studio, improved profitability in our streaming businesses, a record-breaking 60 Emmy Awards for the company, the continued power of live sports, and the unveiling of an impressive collection of new projects coming to our Experiences segment,” the CEO added. “As a result of our strategies and our focus on managing our businesses for both the near- and long-term, we are differentiating ourselves from traditional competitors, leveraging the deepest and broadest set of entertainment assets in the industry to drive attractive returns and further advance our goals.”

During Disney’s investor call Thursday, Iger and Johnston spoke about the future of Disney’s ESPN amid its new sports joint venture with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as the outlook for selling off any of Disney’s assets.