Disney (DIS) is set to report fiscal third-quarter results Thursday after market close, with investors set to closely monitor growth trends in both the entertainment conglomerate's streaming and parks businesses as consumers resumed going out.
Here are the main results expected from Disney's report compared to consensus data, compiled by Bloomberg:
Revenue:$16.80 billion expected vs. $11.78 billion Y/Y
Adjusted earnings per share:55 cents expected vs. 8 cents Y/Y
Disney is expected to return to revenue growth for the first time in five quarters, with visitations at the company's global parks and resorts picking up as vaccinations took place and consumer mobility picked up. By the end of the third quarter, all of Disney's global theme parks had reopened, including Disneyland Paris and Disneyland in California, which had still been closed earlier this year.
Though foot traffic at the parks has been below pre-pandemic levels, the reopenings have enabled the profit engine of Disney's overall business to resume operations more robustly. Disney's parks, experiences, and consumer products business segment is expected to swing to an operating profit of just over $41 million during the quarter, recovering after posting a loss in the same period last year.
Costs related to addressing pandemic-related health concerns are still expected to be high for Disney, however. Last quarter, Disney said it expected to spend around $1 billion on safety measures for employees, talent and guests in fiscal 2021.
But for investors, the company's nearly two-year-old streaming business Disney+ is crucial and will be under the spotlight during Disney's earnings release and call on Thursday. Over the course of the pandemic, growth at Disney's streaming platform Disney+ helped placate investors as the company's lucrative parks and resorts saw business dry up.
But as more consumers got vaccinated and went back outdoors, growth at Disney+ began to slow. In May, Disney+ posted its weakest quarter for user growth since its debut, with new subscribers rising by 8.7 million. Still, company has grown notably since launching in late 2019, with subscribers breaking above the 100 million mark in less than two years.
The slowdown in streaming has not been limited to Disney. Netflix, the incumbent leader among U.S.-based internet streaming platforms, added just 1.5 million new members in the second quarter of this year. That fell sharply from the more than 10 million paid users added in the same quarter last year, when consumers turned in droves to find entertainment during the height of stay-in-place orders.
For Disney, Wall Street analysts expect Disney+ to report another 8.2 million users joined in the third quarter, bringing the total number of subscribers to about 112.8 million. That would compare to 209.2 million at Netflix.
Disney's broad library of content on Disney+ and its other streaming platforms have been the key to its success to date, and updates on its content portfolio are set to be closely watched. ESPN+ grew subscribers by 75% year-over-year last quarter to 13.8 million, with a stronger lineup of live sports helping boost viewership. And the company also announced two new rights deals during its earnings call last quarter, including an enhanced deal with Major League Baseball until 2028 and a new deal with LaLiga, the men’s professional soccer division of the Spanish soccer league.
In terms of films, Marvel names including "Loki" and "Black Widow" saw success both in theatrical releases and on Disney+, offering another major positive for Disney's business during the quarter.