The Walt Disney Co. ended its fiscal 2024 on a high note, thanks in large part to its theatrical film division and growth in streaming, even as its ESPN and experiences businesses dragged down net income slightly compared to a year earlier.
The entertainment giant reported revenues of $22.57 billion in its fiscal Q4, which ended Sep. 30, up 6% from the same quarter a year ago. Income was $948 million, down 6% from a year ago, while diluted earnins per share (EPS) was $0.25, compared to $0.14 a year ago.
The growth was driven by entertainment, where revenues were up by 14% to $10.8 billion, with segment operating income surging by more than 100% to $1.07 billion. The company had both Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2 in the quarter, a pair of massive theatrical hits.
And streaming improved its profitability, with operating income of $321 million between the company’s direct-to-consumer offerings. Disney+, meanwhile, added more than four million “core” subscribers, and now has more than 120 million core subs. Revenue in DTC was $5.8 billion.
Still, both Disney’s sports division — led by ESPN — and its experiences division had a bit of softness, and led to the lower income results compared to last year. Sports revenue was essentially flat at $3.9 billion, but operating income fell 5% to $929 million.
At Disney’s experiences division, revenues rose by 1% in the quarter, driven by domestic parks, while operating income fell by 6% to $1.7 billion. The revenue and income were impacted largely by Disney’s international parks.
And in an unusual move, Disney actually provided some guidance for Wall Street stretching all the way to fiscal 2027 (a sign, perhaps, of the influence of its relatively new CFO Hugh Johnston).
For fiscal 2025, which starts this quarter, the company is projecting high single digit EPS growth, an $875 million increase in streaming operating income, double digit operating income growth in sports, and 6-8% operating income growth in experiences, weighted to the second half of the year. The company also says the experiences division will face a $130 million impact from Hurricanes Milton and Helene.
For fiscal 2026, the company is expecting double digit EPS growth, and operating income growth in the single digits for sports and experiences, and low double digits for entertainment. And in fiscal 2027, Disney is projecting double digit EPS growth.
“This was a pivotal and successful year for The Walt Disney Company, and thanks to the significant progress we’ve made, we have emerged from a period of considerable challenges and disruption well positioned for growth and optimistic about our future,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger in a statement. “Our solid performance in the fiscal fourth quarter reflected the success of our strategic efforts to improve quality, innovation, efficiency, and value creation. In Q4 we saw one of the best quarters in the history of our film studio, improved profitability in our streaming businesses, a record-breaking 60 Emmy Awards for the company, the continued power of live sports, and the unveiling of an impressive collection of new projects coming to our Experiences segment. As a result of our strategies and our focus on managing our businesses for both the near- and long-term, we are differentiating ourselves from traditional competitors, leveraging the deepest and broadest set of entertainment assets in the industry to drive attractive returns and further advance our goals.”
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