- Disney stock surged 9% on Thursday after the company beat subscriber and earnings estimates.
- The company reported $21.5 billion of revenue and 14.4 million net new Disney+ subscribers.
- Despite the gains, the company said streaming wouldn’t be profitable until 2024.
Disney stock surged after the entertainment and amusement park conglomerate reported results after the bell on Wednesday, beating earnings and new subscriber estimates this past quarter.
Shares jumped to $122.93 as of 8:35 am ET, up 9% in premarket trading.
The jump was driven up by Disney’s third quarter results, reporting $21.5 billion in revenue compared to estimates of $21 billion. The company also said it had stronger-than-expected subscriber growth in its Disney+ streaming platform, which saw an additional 14.4 million consumers against estimates of 10 million.
It brings the media giant’s total subscriber count to 221 million across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ – a surprising win after big hits to entertainment competitors, with subscriber losses for Netflix and Warner Bros.
Despite the gains, Disney executives added they didn’t expect the streaming services to be profitable until 2024, and expected the worst losses to come this year.
In the meantime, Disney will raise the price of its streaming services. Disney+ without ads will go from $7.99 to $10.99 a month. Hulu without ads will go from $12.99 to $14.99 a month. It’s ad-supported options will also increase for both services.
Disney also lowering its 2024 subscriber estimates to a range of 215 million-245 million. That’s down from the initially predicted 230 million-260 million, likely a result of losing streaming rights for the Indian Premium League, which could dent international subscriber figures.
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