Last year was undeniably Disney’s year on the movie front, as films under its banner appeared in the top 3 of global total revenue: Inside Out 2 ($1.7 billion), Deadpool and Wolverine ($1.3 billion), and Moana 2 ($1 billion). It was a big year for animated content, but not so much for Disney+. Well, there was some growth in the previous quarter, but they still "managed" to lose a significant number of subscribers. However, according to the head of the media conglomerate, there’s no need to panic.
Variety reported that Disney held its quarterly (Q4) evaluation regarding Disney+ and Hulu, which pertains to the last three months of 2024. Overall, the result was better than Wall Street’s estimates, meaning the quarter was profitable from a financial standpoint. In the streaming business, $6.07 billion in revenue was generated, with $293 million in profit, or rather, net income. However, in terms of subscribers, Disney+ was in the red, with 700,000 users canceling the service (dropping from 125.3M users to 124.6M "members" or accounts).
Of course, this isn’t as bad as what Wall Street had predicted, Variety confirmed, especially considering there was a price increase. At the same time, Hulu, another Disney service, gained 1.6 million new subscribers (it went from 52M to 53.6M). In some regions, Hulu content is available on Disney+, but there are areas where users can subscribe separately to this streaming platform. Disney continues to expect a decline in Disney+ subscribers due to rising prices and the expiration of certain promotions. Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, is optimistic and clarified that the company anticipated a drop in subscribers because of these factors.
Overall, Disney reported $24.69 billion in revenue for the most recent quarterly report, marking a 5% increase compared to last year’s figures. Of this, the net income was $2.55 billion, which is also a 34% increase. These results were better than analysts had expected, as the projected total revenue was $24.55 billion. A significant contribution to these figures came from Disney's theme parks, as well as the success of Moana 2. The animated movie was released in November, which was in the quarter in question, and the company highlighted this film's success in its current financial report.
