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Mickey has been one busy mouse lately as Disney attempts to maintain its reign as the biggest entertainment kingdom of them all. But with all the news the media giant just dropped, where do we start?
First, some numbers: Q3 adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.61, beating estimates of $1.47. However, revenue grew 2% year over year to $23.65 billion, falling shy of the $23.72 billion analysts had forecast.
This mixed bag of news deflated Disney shares by 2.73% today. Here’s a closer look at the latest happy endings and Goofy-level flops.
The streaming wars heat up
Disney’s legacy TV business is on life support, with linear TV network revenue down 15% year over year—but its streaming success helped make up for it. The company added 2.6 million Disney+ and Hulu subscribers this quarter, boosting direct-to-consumer revenue by 6% annually to $6.2 billion. Another 10 million subscribers are expected in Q4.
Disney’s ESPN just signed a touchdown deal with the National Football League, in which the NFL will take a 10% equity stake in ESPN, while Disney will acquire the NFL Network and other media assets. This feast for sports fans will be unleashed on ESPN’s new streaming platform starting August 21—which also happens to be the same day Fox debuts its own streaming service FOX One with its own live NFL games, kicking off a battle for sports streaming dominance this fall.
Speaking of sports, ESPN also inked a $1.6 billion deal for the rights to broadcast WWE matches, including WrestleMania and SummerSlam events, for the next five years. Disney likely hopes that the one-two punch of NFL and WWE will keep it ahead of the competition, as streamers like Netflix and Amazon invest in live sports to entice more customers to sign up.
Meanwhile, Disney is pulling the plug on Hulu, which will cease to exist in 2026 and instead be folded into Disney+. The company also announced that it will stop reporting separate subscriber numbers on Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu as it attempts to streamline its numbers and prove these assets are stronger together than apart.
But what about the movies? Coming off last year’s mega-hit “Inside Out 2,” Disney’s latest batch of films failed to impress. The “Lilo & Stitch” remake grossed $1 billion, but Marvel’s “Thunderbolts” mustered up just $400 million, while “Elio” ranks as Pixar’s lowest-grossing film in history at $35 million.
And how about those theme parks? Revenue from Disney’s Experiences division (including its theme parks, resorts, and cruises) rose 8% to $9.09 billion, marking its biggest fiscal third quarter in history. Theme park performance was particularly promising amid new competition from Comcast’s Epic Universe (located just eight miles from Walt Disney World in Orlando) and the dismal summer of Six Flags, where attendance plummeted annually by 9%.
Six Flags attempted to blame the hot, humid weather—but maybe everyone was just at the Happiest Place on Earth.—JD