Walt Disney, the world’s largest entertainment and media company, posted weaker-than-expected earnings and revenues in its fiscal fourth quarter, and saw a significant slowdown in subscriber growth for its Disney + streaming service. Disney’s quarterly revenue increased 26% to $ 18.5 billion, below market guidance of $ 18.8 billion. Net income for the quarter ended October 2 was $ 159 million, or $ 0.09 per share, compared with a net loss of $ 710 million, or $ 0.39 per share, for the same period last year. Earnings excluding one-off factors were $ 0.37 per share, well below the consensus forecast of $ 0.52 per share. Weak reporting disappointed investors. Disney shares were down 9% last week.
TIKR:
DIS
PRICE:
$174
TARGET PRICE:
$137
UPSIDE:
-21%
The number of Disney + subscribers in the past quarter increased by only 2 million from the previous quarter to 118.1 million. Growth rates slowed significantly compared to the third financial quarter, when Disney + added more than 12 million new subscribers. The market was expecting an increase in the fourth quarter to 125.3 million, an annualized growth of 60% in the number of streaming service subscribers. Disney + ‘s average monthly revenue per user decreased to $ 4.12 from $ 4.52 a year earlier. The online video platform business, which includes Disney +, increased its third financial quarter revenue by 9% to $ 13.08 billion.
Revenue for the theme parks, cruise ships, consumer goods and video games division soared 99% to $ 5.42 billion, thanks to the reopening of parks that closed at the peak of the pandemic. We remain concerned about Disney’s long-term strategy, in particular, we doubt the purchase of Fox was right. Quarterly reporting made a bad impression, so we revised the fair value of Disney shares from $ 147 to $ 137. We believe Disney stock looks overvalued at current levels.
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media.