Disney reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday after-the-bell. The company missed Wall Street estimates across the board during the quarter ended Oct 2., sending the stock down more than 4% in after-hours trading.
- Earnings per share: 37 cents adj. vs 51 cents expected, according to Refinitiv
- Revenue: $18.53 billion vs $18.79 billion expected, according to Refinitiv
The company added 2.1 million Disney+ subscribers to reach a total of 118.1 million, in line with Disney's estimates. During the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in September, CEO Bob Chapek said the segment's growth had “hit some headwinds” and that Disney expected to add “low single-digit millions” of streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter.
However, Wall Street was more bullish than Chapek heading into earnings. StreetAccount estimated the company would report 125.4 million total Disney+ subscribers as of the fourth quarter, suggesting 9.4 million new subscribers since the third quarter.
During the company's earnings call, Chapek reiterated the company's goal of reaching 230 million to 260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024.
“We remain focused on managing our DTC business for the long term, not quarter to quarter,” Chapek said. International expansion and new content are the primary drivers for the company to reach that target, Chapek later told CNBC.
Disney is expecting to ramp up content for Disney+ in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Q4 will be the first time in Disney+ history that we plan to release original content throughout the quarter from Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Nat…