Disney Q3 earnings blow past expectations

Entertainment giant Disney posted blowout quarterly earnings overnight, beating expectations for subscriber growth, revenues and earnings.

Disney reported third-quarter earnings per share of $0.80 each, well ahead of estimates of $0.55, while revenues of $17.02bn were also better than the $16.76bn expected by analysts. Revenue for its direct-to-consumer segments increased 57% to $4.3bn.

The Burbank-based company also beat on subscriber estimates for its Disney+ streaming service, coming in at 116.0m after having added 103.6m in the previous quarter.

However, average monthly revenue per subscriber for the service dipped 10% year-on-year to $4.16 due to a higher mix of Disney+ and Hotstar bundles in Indonesia and India.

Disney added that its parks, experiences and products segment had also returned to profitability, with revenue in the segment jumping 308% to $4.3bn after all of its parks were reopened during the quarter. Operating income hit $356.0m, compared with a loss of $1.87bn during the same quarter a year ago.

As of 1035 BST, Disney shares were up 5.19% in pre-market at $188.60 each.