The “Partners” statue featuring Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse at Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, photographed on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
Joe Burbank | Tribune news service | Getty Images
Disney reports its fiscal second-quarter earnings before Tuesday’s bell, and analysts will be paying attention to streaming subscriber growth and prospects, as well as visitation to the company’s theme parks.
It’s been more than a year since CEO Bob Iger announced a reorganization that brought changes to the company’s structure, thousands of job losses and $5.5 billion in cost cuts. It will also be Disney’s first earnings call since Disney won a proxy fight with Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners.
According to LSEG, here’s what Wall Street expects from Disney on Tuesday morning:
- Earnings per share: expected $1.10
- Revenue: expected $22.11 billion
Subscriber growth for flagship streaming service Disney+ will once again be a major focus. BofA Securities analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday that streaming would reach profitability in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Last quarter, Disney’s direct-to-consumer division – which also owns Hulu and ESPN+ – reported losses to $216 million from $1.05 billion in the same period a year earlier.
In February, the company reported that Disney+’s core subscriber base fell by 1.3 million this quarter compared to the previous quarter due to price increases, although the company said it saw an boost in average revenue per user for the same reason.
Wall Street will also be looking for updates on Hulu’s integration with Disney+, as well as the status of the valuation process that will value Comcast’s stake in Hulu.
Visitor traffic to Disney theme parks in the US will also be in the spotlight. Economic growth began to ponderous last year due to lower employee numbers in Orlando, according to a Monday research note from Deutsche Bank.
Comcast recently reported a slowdown at its Universal Orlando theme park, noting increased competition, particularly from cruise lines. Analyst Reif Ehrlich noted that this could work to Disney’s advantage because it has a recent cruise ship.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
