Shares after the report
After the close of trading on Wednesday, Disney announced its financial results for fiscal year 2022 (ending 2021-12-31) Q1.
Disney (DIS) shares, down 22.36% over the past 12 months, were up 6.64% at the post-market on Wednesday.
A report from the company
Earnings per share for the holiday quarter rose to $1.06, up from last year's figure of $0.32 and against analysts' expectations of $0.63. Earnings reached $1.15 billion.
Revenues rose 34% to $21.82 billion, above analysts' estimates of $20.91 billion.
Disney's core Media and Entertainment Distribution segment generated revenue of $14.59 billion for the quarter, compared with analysts' average expectations of $14.55 billion.
The company said it monetises its original content not only through cinema sales, but also through releases on Disney+, licensing of its characters and brands, sales of themed merchandise and toys.
Disney's theme park and product sales segment managed to deliver strong results during the festive quarter, even though visitor restrictions were still in place.
Disney CFO Christine McCarthy noted that parks in the US, especially Florida, have yet to recover significant ticket sales from international travellers, who before the pandemic accounted for 18% to 20% of guests.
Quarterly revenue for the parks segment more than doubled to $7.23 billion from $3.59 billion a year earlier. Analysts' average estimate was $6.36bn.
Disney raised ticket prices early in the holiday quarter, and according to CEO Bob Chapek, guests took advantage of additional services at the park, boosting profits.
Total Disney subscribers grew by 11.7 million during the holiday quarter, higher than average expectations of 7.3 million.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) in the US and Canada rose to $6.68 per month from $5.80 a year ago.
At the end of the quarter, total Disney subscribers reached 129.8 million and the company maintained its plans to reach 230 million to 260 million by the end of fiscal 2024, when it expects the service to break even.
The company warned that Disney is expected to spend heavily on streaming in Q2, with production costs for shows and movies increasing by around $800 billion.
The Disney segment is seen by investors and market analysts as one of the company's key growth drivers, and the subscriber growth metric is receiving a lot of attention.
