BREAKING: 5 MAJOR Updates Revealed From Disney’s Latest News Drop

Disney has just revealed some important updates. Not sure what’s going on? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

November 14th marked the release of Disney’s earnings report and the earnings call for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. During these earnings calls, we usually get some critical details about the company’s financial status, attendance at the theme parks, and more. So, let’s go through all of the big news that Disney just dropped!

This post will continue to be updated as we get more information from the earnings report and earnings call, so check back for updates.

1 — Big Picture Finances

First, let’s take a look at those overall financial results — a.k.a. the financial standing of the Walt Disney Company as a whole. Disney revealed that for the 4th quarter, Disney achieved strong 23% growth in total segment operating income for Q4 and 21% for the year.

In terms of revenues, Disney reported revenues increased 6% for Q4 to $22.6 billion and 3% for the year to $91.4 billion — up from $88.9 billion in the prior year.

Now, let’s break that down to see just how the big divisions within the Company performed.

2 — Disney Experiences (Theme Parks, Cruises, Merchandise)

The Disney Experiences division handles the theme parks, cruise line, and products. During Q3, revenue in this division increased as a whole, but the parks segment income dropped compared to the prior year due to “moderation of consumer demand” that exceeded the company’s expectations.

Disney blamed the lower theme park attendance numbers on the fact that higher-income consumers are traveling internationally more. Though they said, “Those people we think are eventually going to come back.”

So what happened in this last quarter? Disney reported in Q4, Experiences revenue increased $0.1 billion, or 1%, and operating income of $1.7 billion was a decline of $0.1 billion, or 6% compared to the prior-year quarter. Domestic Parks & Experiences operating income increased in Q4, on comparable attendance to the prior-year quarter, driven by higher guest spending, partially offset by higher expenses and costs related to new guest offerings driven by Disney Cruise Line. International Parks & Experiences operating income declined in Q4.

Disney explained that the increase in operating income at our domestic parks and experiences reflected:

• Guest spending growth attributable to increases in per capita guest spending at our theme parks and cruise line
• Lower sales of Disney Vacation Club units
• Higher costs primarily due to inflation, new guest offerings, increased technology spending, and higher operations support costs, partially offset by the comparison to depreciation in the prior year quarter related to the closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

International Parks and Experiences International parks and experiences’ operating results decreased compared to the prior-year quarter due to:

• Lower volumes attributable to declines in attendance
• An increase in costs primarily due to new guest offerings and higher depreciation
• A decrease in guest spending due to lower theme park per capita guest spending, partially offset by an increase in per-room spending at our resorts

Big changes that Disney has announced — like the retheme of DinoLand USA and expansion beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad — could entice more people to come to the parks in the future.

We’ll continue to keep an eye out as to just how theme park attendance at the Disney parks changes in the coming months and years.

Tom Sawyer Island Is Going to Be Replaced by New ‘Cars’ Expansion in Magic Kingdom — See More Here

3 — Disney+/Streaming

Regarding streaming, there’s been a big focus on profitability. Previously, Disney indicated that it feels they’ve earned the increased pricing for Disney+ and are adding more value to the service so price increases can follow. Disney has also been cracking down on password sharing for its streaming service.

So just how did things go this last quarter? Disney noted that it ended the quarter with 174 million Disney+ Core and Hulu subscriptions and more than 120 million Disney+ Core paid subscribers, an increase of 4.4 million over the prior quarter. The entertainment direct-to-consumer segment delivered 14% ad revenue growth in Q4, contributing to $253 million in operating income, and Disney’s combined DTC streaming businesses improved their profitability in Q4, with an operating income of $321 million.

The improvement in operating results in the current quarter compared to the prior-year quarter was due to:

• Subscription revenue growth attributable to higher effective rates due to increases in retail pricing and subscriber growth, partially offset by an unfavorable foreign exchange impact
• An increase in advertising revenue due to higher impressions, partially offset by lower rates
• Lower marketing costs at Disney+
• Higher technology and distribution costs
• An increase in programming and production costs reflecting:
  • Higher subscriber-based fees for programming the Hulu Live TV service attributable to rate increases
  • Lower costs for non-sports content attributable to a decrease at Disney+, partially offset by an increase at Hulu

In 2025, Disney predicts a modest decline in Q1 Disney+ Core subscribers versus Q4. We’ll keep an eye out for more news there, and we’ll be sure to share it with you.

Click Here to See the NEW Trailer for an Upcoming Disney+ Series

4 — ESPN

Now, let’s talk SPORTS. ESPN is one division in the Company that is set to undergo some big changes, particularly with the planned addition of an ESPN tile on Disney+ and the announcement of Disney’s new sports streaming service — Venu. But Venu has hit some snags in the road. The launch of the service has been delayed thanks to the ruling of a federal judge in a lawsuit against Disney brought by FuboTV.

In Q4 of fiscal year 2024, the sports segment operating income was $0.9 billion, a decline of $0.1 billion compared to the prior year quarter. Domestic ESPN advertising revenue in Q4 grew by 7% compared to the prior year.

The decrease in domestic ESPN operating results in the current quarter compared to the prior-year quarter was due to:

• Higher programming and production costs attributable to an increase in college football rights costs and higher production costs, partially offset by lower NFL rights costs as a result of airing one fewer game in the current quarter
• Lower affiliate revenue due to fewer subscribers, partially offset by higher effective rates
• Advertising revenue growth reflecting increases in rates and sponsorship revenue, partially offset by lower average viewership
• Growth in subscription revenue due to higher effective rates attributable to an increase in retail pricing

5 — But Wait…There’s More

Disney had some BIG wins at the box office this quarter. Both Pixar’s Inside Out 2 and Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine broke multiple box office records and helped drive $316 million in operating income at Content Sales/Licensing and in Q4.

That’s what things are looking like for the Walt Disney Company right now. But there could be some HUGE updates on the way with Bob Iger’s upcoming departure from the company, major theme park expansions in the works, and more. Be sure to stick around for the latest updates.

Disney Shares 13 (!!!) Characters Inspiring the NEW Villains Land at Magic Kingdom — Click HERE to Learn More!

What do you think about the announcements Disney has made? Tell us in the comments.

Post a Comment