• by Wayne Friedman , November 14, 2024

Walt Disney overdelivered on its direct-to-consumer/streaming business operating income for its recent quarter -- posting $253 million.

Analysts were expecting around $137 million -- over an 85% improvement.

For the similar period a year ago, D2C business came in at a $420 million loss (earnings before interest and taxes).

Disney stock rose 6.2% to $109.12 on Thursday.

Disney+ also overdelivered on subscribers, adding 4.4 million (up 4%) to total 122 million subscriptions. Hulu (including its Hulu+Live TV) was up 2% to 51.1 million.

Over half of new Disney+ subscribers (60%) are choosing its ad-supported option -- 37% of new subscribers in the U.S. and 30% globally.  Netflix has recently claimed 50% of its new subscribers are taking its ad-supported options.

Overall D2C revenues rose 15% in the period to $5.78 billion, on par with estimates.

The company touts that bundle subscriptions continue to grow along with Hulu, now with its own brand “tile” area on Disney+. Strong Hulu program viewership came from “The Bear,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”

Next month, sports-focused ESPN+ gets its own branded tile access point on Disney+.

Select content will be available on Disney+. In early fall 2025, Disney will launch its full-fledged, cable network-like ESPN streaming platform.

Disney touts that operating income at its DTC business was at $321 million, its second sequential quarterly period following its fiscal third-quarter period.

Linear TV networks sank 6% to $2.5 billion, with operating income almost cut in half, down 38% to $498 million.

There were declines in affiliate revenue due to fewer subscribers from industry-wide cord-cutting. Advertising also sank due to lower viewership, partially offset by higher rates.

Better news came with licensing and content sales -- up 39% to $2.58 billion -- also overdelivering on expectations. Disney had strong theatrical results from “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

Disney Parks tacked on 2.5% in revenue to $5.5 billion, with total operating income down 8% to $1.15 billion. International attendance was lower due to the impact of lower business as Disneyland Paris.

This story has been updated.