FILE PHOTO: A screen shows the trading info for The Walt Disney Company company on the floor of the NYSE in New York
Walt Disney largely exceeded expectations on its fourth quarter results on Thursday, driven by the success of the Marvel film “Deadpool & Wolverine”, while the entertainment giant delivered optimistic forecasts for the coming year.
The group’s stock jumped 7.4% in pre-market trading.
Disney reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.14 (1.08 euros) for the fourth quarter, above the expectations of analysts polled by LSEG who expected $1.10 per share.
Revenue reached $22.6 billion, slightly above the $22.45 billion Wall Street expected. Operating profit increased 23% from the previous year to nearly $3.7 billion.
Operating profit of the Entertainment division, which includes film, television and streaming, more than doubled to $1.1 billion, driven by “Only Murders in the Building” and blockbuster films of the summer, including “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Alien: Romulus”. The film “Deadpool” grossed $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office.
Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ posted operating income of $321 million in the period, marking their second consecutive quarter of profitability.
These recent successes offset lower operating results in the Experiences (-6%), which includes parks and consumer products, and Sports (-5%) divisions.
Disney expects high-single-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2025, despite capital expenditures of about $8 billion.
The group also announced a share buyback program worth $3 billion, and said it expects double-digit growth in adjusted profit for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
(Reporting Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine, with contributions from Harshita Varghese, French version Elena Smirnova, editing by Augustin Turpin)
