Disney+ Streaming Subscribers Surge in Latest Quarter, as Streaming Profits Continue to Rise

Streaming continues to become a more potent force on The Walt Disney Co.’s balance sheet, as the company’s fiscal Q4 earnings report demonstrates.

Disney released its latest quarterly earnings early Thursday morning, reporting revenues of $22.5 billion, essentially flat from last year, and segment operating income of $3.5 billion, down 5 percent from a year ago.

While Disney is still feeling the pinch of linear TV’s troubles, its streaming business continues to grow. Most notable, the company beat Wall Street estimates with Disney+ subscribers rising by 3.8 million compared to Q3 to 132 million, and Disney+ and Hulu subscribers rising by 12.4 million to 196 million.

Direct-to-consumer revenue rose by 8 percent in the quarter to $6.2 billion, with operating income rising by 39 percent to $352 million.

Those subscriber numbers are still somewhat surprising given that Disney had two events in the quarter (which ended Sept. 25) that could impact subscribers: The short-lived suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, and the announcement of price increases. It is worth noting that the timing of subscription renewals may mean that any canceled subscriptions might not appear until the company’s fiscal Q1, and conveniently for Disney, it has previously said that it will stop reporting streaming subscribers in its next quarterly earnings report.

Disney’s experiences business also continued to chug along, with revenue of $8.8 billion (up 6 percent) and operating income of $1.9 billion (up 13 percent). Sports, which is anchored by ESPN, saw its revenue rise by 2 percent to $4 billion, and operating income fall by 2 percent to $911 million, as cord-cutting continues to wreak havoc.

Cord-cutting also impacted the company’s linear TV business, which saw revenue declines of 16 percent to $2.1 billion, and operating income fall by 21 percent to $391 million. Overall the entertainment division (inclusive of linear and streaming, as well as studios) had revenue of $10.2 billion, down 6 percent, and operating income of $691 million, down 35 percent.

The company also released guidance for fiscal 2026, and some early guidance for fiscal 2027. In fiscal 2026, the company expects double digit segment percentage operating income growth in its entertainment business, with an operating margin of 10 percent for its entertainment direct-to-consumer businesses. Sports will see low single digit segment operating income growth, with experiences seeing high single digit growth. The company expects double digit EPS growth in fiscal 2027, compared to 2026.

And DIsney also announced a substantial increase in its annual divided to $1.50 per share, up from $1 currently, and a doubling of its share repurchases to $7 billion.

“This was another year of great progress as we strengthened the company by leveraging the value of our creative and brand assets and continued to make meaningful progress in our direct-to-consumer businesses,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger in a statement. “Our strategy, coupled with our portfolio of complementary businesses and a strong balance sheet, enables us to continue investing in high-quality offerings for our consumers and increasing our returns to shareholders, and I’m pleased with our many achievements this fiscal year to position Disney for the future.”