Disney reported earnings after the bell Thursday. Disney said it now has 94.95 million paid subscribers to its Disney+ streaming service as of the quarter ended January 2nd.
Lauren Feiner and Sarah Whitten for CNBC:
The stock was up around 3% after hours.
Here are the key numbers:
• Earnings per share: 32 cents adjusted vs loss of 41 cents expected, according to Refinitiv
• Revenue: $16.25 billion vs $15.9 billion expected, according to RefinitivAverage monthly revenue per paid Disney+ subscriber, however, dipped 28% between compared to the same quarter last year, from $5.56 to $4.03. That’s because this number now includes subscribers to Disney+ Hotstar, which launched in India and Indonesia last year. The service has lower average monthly revenue per paid subscriber than traditional Disney+ in other markets, pulling down the overall average for the quarter.
On Disney’s earnings call, CFO Christine McCarthy said that excluding Hotstar, average revenue per paid Disney+ subscriber would have been $5.37 in the quarter.
McCarthy also said Disney will not regularly report streaming subscriber numbers in future quarters as it’s now more than a year out from the launch of Disney+. But, she said, they may disclose some milestones.
MacDailyNews Take: Disney+, as expected, is posting strong numbers.
Of course, Apple TV+, at just $4.99 per month, doesn’t have to disrupt Netflix and/or Disney+ by taking subscribers; it’s additive. Most people who already subscribe to Netflix and/or Disney+ will simply add Apple TV+, not drop Netflix and/or Disney+ for it.