For the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, The Walt Disney Company has announced its financial results, reporting a revenue of $23.2 billion. This marks a 4 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Furthermore, The Walt Disney Company has reported an increase in its Disney+ subscriber base, which grew by approximately 1 percent to 118.3 million. In the US and Canada, the streaming service gained a net 800,000 new subscribers, bringing the total to 54.8 million. However, international Disney+ Core subscribers (excluding Disney+ Hotstar) saw a decline of about 100,000, settling at 63.5 million. Additionally, Hulu experienced a 2 percent growth in its subscriber count, reaching a total of 51.1 million.
With a 3 percent decline, The Walt Disney Company reported a decline in domestic average revenue per user (ARPU) for Disney+, which dropped to $7.74. This decrease was attributed to shifts in the subscriber mix. On the contrary, international ARPU (excluding Hotstar) increased by 2 percent to $6.78, driven by price hikes, though partially offset by foreign exchange impacts. Hotstar saw a significant 50 percent rise in ARPU, reaching $1.05, largely due to increased advertising revenue.
For the first time, achieving an operating profit of $47 million in Q3 2024 Disney’s combined streaming services Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ reported a profit. This marks a significant turnaround from the $512 million loss recorded in the same quarter last year. However, the direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming segment posted a loss of $19 million excluding ESPN+. In contrast, Disney’s linear TV business experienced a 7 percent decline in revenue and a 6 percent drop in operating income for the quarter.
Bob Iger, The Walt Disney Company CEO, said, “Our performance in Q3 demonstrates the progress we’ve made against our four strategic priorities across our creative studios, streaming, sports and Experiences businesses. This was a strong quarter for Disney, driven by excellent results in our Entertainment segment both at the box office and in DTC, as we achieved profitability across our combined streaming businesses for the first time and a quarter ahead of our previous guidance. Despite softer third quarter performance in our Experiences segment, adjusted EPS for the company was up 35 per cent, and with our complementary and balanced portfolio of businesses, we are confident in our ability to continue driving earnings growth through our collection of unique and powerful assets.”
Additionally, in the third quarter, Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” proved to be a massive box office success for Disney becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time with over $1.5 billion in earnings since its release in June. Capitalizing on this success, the original “Inside Out” (released in 2015) drew more than 1.3 million new Disney+ subscribers during the same period and garnered over 100 million views worldwide.
Notably, due to slowing consumer demand and inflation, Disney’s theme parks business faced challenges resulting in a 6 percent decline in operating profit. Despite these headwinds, the overall experiences segment which encompasses domestic and international parks, experiences, and consumer products saw a 2 percent increase in revenue, reaching $8.38 billion.