Disney Beats Analyst Expectations, Disney+ Surpasses 116 Million Subscribers

Disney posted quarterly earnings that outperformed analysts’ expectations and showed continued strong growth in the increasingly competitive streaming market.

As part of its latest quarterly earnings report, The Walt Disney Company said that its Disney+ streaming service now has over 116 million subscribers (via TechCrunch).

The media giant reported revenues of $17 billion USD in the three months to 3 July, a 45 percent increase year on year, and edging out market predictions of $16.8 billion. Its diluted earnings per share were $0.80 USD, beating Wall Street’s expectations of $0.56.

“We ended the third quarter in a strong position, and are pleased with the company’s trajectory as we grow our businesses amidst the ongoing challenges of the pandemic,” said Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

Disney+ now has 116 million subscribers worldwide, representing a 102 percent increase year on year and beating expectations of about 114.5 million, but the average monthly revenue per subscriber took a 10 percent hit to land at $4.16 USD.

“Our direct-to-consumer business is performing very well, with a total of nearly 174m subscriptions across Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu at the end of the quarter, and a host of new content coming to the platforms.”

The results come after Disney missed expectations for Disney+ net adds for the first three months of the year, after it boomed in 2020 amid pandemic lockdowns. That prompted analysts to lower Disney+ subscriber estimates for the most recent period.