Walt Disney beats by $0.23, reports revs in-line; guides FY24 EPS above consensus, Disney+ Core Subscribers decreased 1.3 mln qtr/qtr, inline with guidance; also increases dividend by 50% and announces new share repurchase program (99.27 -0.02)
- Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $1.22 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.23 better than the FactSet Consensus of $0.99; revenues fell 0.1% year/year to $23.5 bln vs the $23.71 bln FactSet Consensus.
- On track to meet or exceed $7.5 billion annualized savings target by the end of fiscal 2024, while DIS continues to look for further efficiency opportunities.
- Continues to expect to reach profitability at combined streaming businesses in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, and are making tremendous progress in this area, with first quarter Entertainment DTC operating losses improving by nearly $300 million versus the prior quarter.
- Disney+ Core subscribers decreased sequentially by 1.3 million, in line with prior guidance and reflecting a substantial price increase in the quarter as well as the end of the global summer promotion. Disney+ Core ARPU increased sequentially by $0.14 versus the fourth quarter. Expect Disney+ Core subscriber net additions of between 5.5 and 6 million and ongoing positive momentum in ARPU in the second quarter.
- Direct-to-Consumer revenue up 15% to $5.5 bln; operating loss of $(138) mln compared to $(984) mln year-ago qtr.
- Entertainment segment revenue down 7% to $9.9 bln, operating income more than doubled to $874 mln.
- Linear Networks revenue down 12% to $2.8 bln; operating income down 7% to $1.2 bln.
- Sports revenue up 4% to $4.8 bln.
- New Share Repurchase Program: In February 2024, the Board of Directors approved a new share repurchase program effective February 7, 2024; plans to target $3 billion in repurchases in fiscal 2024.
- Dividend Increase: The Board also declared on February 7, 2024 a cash dividend of $0.45 per share - an increase of 50% versus the last dividend paid in January.
- Co issues upside guidance for FY24, sees EPS of at least $4.60, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.29 FactSet Consensus. Continue to expect free cash flow generation in fiscal 2024 to total roughly $8 billion.