Walt Disney Q1 Results Beat Street View On Subscriber Growth; Shares Jump 8%

(RTTNews) - Shares of Walt Disney Co. (DIS) gained nearly 8% in extended trading on Wednesday after the entertainment and media conglomerate reported its first-quarter results with both earnings and revenues beating Wall Street estimates, as streaming subscribers and theme park revenues increased.

Burbank, California-based Disney reported first-quarter profit of $1.10 billion or $0.61 per share, compared with last year's profit of $17 million or $0.01 per share.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $1.06 per share, up from $0.32 per share last year. On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated an earnings of $0.61 per share.

Revenues for the quarter jumped 34% to $21.82 billion from last year's $16.25 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $18.36 billion.

"We've had a very strong start to the fiscal year, with a significant rise in earnings per share, record revenue and operating income at our domestic parks and resorts, the launch of a new franchise with Encanto, and a significant increase in total subscriptions across our streaming portfolio to 196.4 million, including 11.8 million Disney+ subscribers added in the first quarter," said Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company.

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products revenues doubled to $7.23 billion from $3.59 billion last year. Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution segment revenues gained 15% to $14.59 billion from $12.66 billion last year.

Direct-to-Consumer revenues, which includes Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ services, increased 34% to $4.7 billion. Disney+ subscribers surged 37% to 129.8 million from 94.9 million last year. Meanwhile, Hulu recorded 15% subscriber growth to 45.3 million subscribers and ESPN+ subscriber growth increased 76% to 21.3 million.

DIS closed Wednesday's trading at $147.23, up $4.75 or 3.33%, on the NYSE. The stock further gained $11.60 or 7.88%, in the after-hours trading.