Disney released its Q1 earnings report today. The news was a mixed bag. Disney+ lost almost 700k subscribers, but streaming did bring in profit. Hurricanes caused some losses, but Parks and Experiences still came out ahead, and “Moana 2” pushed Disney to success for the quarter.
Overall, Disney came in at $24.7 billion, which beat the expectation of $24.5 billion.
Disney+ and Hulu +
As expected, Disney+ saw declining subscribers, likely due to price hikes. I think a lot of people are growing tired of Disney in general, too. The reports indicate that the 700k Disney+ subscriber loss was less than originally, but Disney went out of its way to offer deals for the service to try to minimize the losses. It could have been worse, but 700k is NOT great either.
Hulu+ increased subscribers by 1.6 million, and the Direct-To-Consumer segment earned a profit of $293 million. This is excellent news, given that in the first quarter of 2024, they lost $138 million.
Parks and Experiences
Overall, the domestic parks had a revenue of $6.4 billion.
Disney was quick to mention that Hurricanes Milton and Helene had impacted both the Disney Cruise Lines and Walt Disney World, but that is only estimated to be about $120 million. Higher expenses and the cost of adding more ships to the Disney Cruise Line are also cited as reasons why the number wasn’t higher. However, attendance was down while guest spending is up.
International theme parks and experiences received better news.
Revenue is up 12%, coming in at $1.65 billion.
Unlike the domestic theme parks, attendance and spending are increasing at the overseas parks.
Moana 2
The film and merchandise boosted the Walt Disney Company this quarter.
Disney does have one big issue reflected in streaming and domestic parks
In both segments, they have lost customers but profited only by charging fewer customers more.
Domestic theme parks are seeing declines in attendance, but Disney has made everything an upcharge. At this point, the only way to enjoy your overpriced vacation is to pay more.
At some point, it’s going to push too many potential customers away. Many even take trips overseas to Disney parks because they get more for the money.
It isn’t sustainable.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
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