Disney shares fall on loss of subscribers in March quarter (2024)

The entertainment company said that during the quarter, total Disney+ subscribers declined by 4 million to 157.8 million. The fall in subscriptions was mainly due to the Disney Hotstar offering in India after it lost streaming rights to Indian Premier League cricket matches. Disney also shed 300,000 customers in the United States and Canada, where it raised prices last December.

However, Walt Disney reduced streaming losses by $400 million from the prior quarter, in line with Wall Street expectations.

A price increase and reduced marketing expenses helped improve the performance of Disney's streaming unit from January through March. The division ended the quarter with an operating loss of $659 million, compared with $1.1 billion in the prior quarter.

The shares of Disney plunged 4.76% to USD 96.33 in after-hours trading.

Disney's diluted earnings per share came in at 93 cents. Revenue hit $21.82 billion, slightly above analyst projections of $21.79 billion.

Meanwhile, the company's theme parks kept humming with visitors, with growth at its Shanghai Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort helping lift operating income at the unit by 23% from a year earlier to $2.2 billion.

The company’s Chief Executive Bob Iger said that it plans to expand its streaming offerings by year's end with a new app that combines the family-friendly Disney and the Hulu general entertainment service.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Published: 11 May 2023, 09:12 AM IST