By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - Disney on Tuesday reported fiscal first-quarter results that topped analysts' expectations, led by a strong showing at the box office and better-than-expected performance of Disney+.
Walt Disney announced earnings per share of $1.53 on revenue of $20.86 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $1.46 on revenue of $20.81 billion. That with comparison to EPS of $1.84 on revenue of $15.3 billion in the same period a year before. Walt Disney had reported EPS of $1.07 on revenue of $19.1 billion in the previous quarter.
The results were supported by growth in TV/SVOD distribution results, thanks to better-than-expected performance from Disney+, which was launched in the U.S. on Nov. 12.
Disney+ added 26.5 million subscribers in the fiscal first quarter, well above the 20.8 million expected.
"We had a strong first quarter, highlighted by the launch of Disney+, which has exceeded even our greatest expectations," said Robert A. Iger, chairman and chief executive officer, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS).
Studio entertainment revenues for the quarter more than doubled to $3.8 billion and segment operating income increased 200% to $948 million, led by strong box office performances, the company said.
"The increase in theatrical distribution results was due to the performance of Frozen II and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker in the current quarter compared to Ralph Breaks the Internet in the prior-year quarter," Disney said.
Its cable networks saw revenues increase 20% to $4.8 billion and operating income rose 16% to $862 billion, but growth was kept in check by a decline in income from ESPN due to an increase in programming and production costs and lower advertising revenue, the company added.
Looking ahead, analysts are expecting Disney to generate earnings per share of $1.4 and revenue of $19.55 billion in the upcoming quarter.
Walt Disney shares are down 0% from the beginning of the year , still down 5.65% from its 52 week high of $153.41 set on November 26, 2019. They are under-performing the S&P 500 which is up 1.65% year to date.
Walt Disney shares gained 2.94% in after-hours trade after the report.
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