Disney Reports Q3 Revenue Gains

Revenues at The Walt Disney Company grew by 4 percent in the third quarter to $22.3 billion.

The company reported a net loss of $460 million. The quarter included $2.4 billion in charges related to the removal of content from its D2C services and $210 million in severance payments following a company restructuring in the wake of Bob Iger’s return as CEO.

“Our results this quarter are reflective of what we’ve accomplished through the unprecedented transformation we’re undertaking at Disney to restructure the company, improve efficiencies, and restore creativity to the center of our business,” said Iger. “In the eight months since my return, these important changes are creating a more cost-effective, coordinated and streamlined approach to our operations that has put us on track to exceed our initial goal of $5.5 billion in savings as well as improved our direct-to-consumer operating income by roughly $1 billion in just three quarters. While there is still more to do, I’m incredibly confident in Disney’s long-term trajectory because of the work we’ve done, the team we now have in place, and because of Disney’s core foundation of creative excellence and popular brands and franchises.”

At Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, revenues were largely flat at $14 billion. The linear networks were down 7 percent to $6.7 billion, with U.S. revenues falling by 4 percent and international by 20 percent. Direct-to-consumer revenues rose by 9 percent to $5.5 billion, with the segment narrowing its loss to $512 million from $1.1 billion. U.S. and Canada subs were flat at 46 million, while Disney+ international reported 59.7 million subs, a 2 percent gain, Disney+ Hotstar saw significant erosion, with subs dropping to 40.4 million. ESPN+ was flat at 25.2 million subscribers. Hulu saw small gains for its SVOD tier to reach 44 million. Content sales revenues were down slightly to $2.1 billion.

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products saw revenues rise by 11 percent to $2.4 billion.