Disney rises on earnings beat, posts $136 million operating loss in streaming business

Walt Disney Co. shares rose 2 percent in extended trading Tuesday after the company reported earnings per share and revenue that topped analyst estimates, helped by sales increases in its media networks and theme parks businesses.

The earnings report comes as the entertainment giant expands its direct-to-consumer offerings amid growing competition from Netflix and other streaming services. On the company’s post-earnings conference call, CEO Bob Iger said that ESPN+ now has 2 million paid subscribers, noting that direct-to-consumer “remains our number one priority.”

Here’s what analysts are expecting:

Earnings: $1.84 per share, vs $1.55 per share expected, according to Refinitiv

Revenue: $15.30 billion, versus $15.14 billion expected, according to Refinitiv

Disney, whose assets include cable networks such as ESPN and film studios like Marvel, is making a push into streaming services as more consumers drop their pay-TV package in favor of cheaper options that can be watched through an internet connection. The company launched the sports streaming service ESPN+ last year and plans to launch Disney+, a streaming service of its movies and original programming, later this year.

The company said that its direct-to-consumer and international segment posted revenue of $918 million and an operating loss of $136 million in its first quarter ended Dec. 29. due to increased costs related to ESPN+ and the upcoming launch of Disney+.

Revenue in Disney’s media networks business, which includes ESPN, rose 7 percent to $5.92 billion in the quarter, compared to the year-earlier period, while its parks business was up 5 percent to $6.82 billion. Studio entertainment revenues fell 27 percent to $1.8 billion thanks to the strong performance of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Thor: Ragnarok in the prior-year quarter compared to Mary Poppins Returns and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms this year.

The company expects its pending $71.3 billion acquisition of a majority of assets from Twenty-First Century Fox to aid that strategy. The deal is expected to provide Disney with additional media assets for its new streaming service and would also give Disney a larger stake in the streaming service Hulu.

But Disney’s direct-to-consumer push comes with risks: It’s hard to turn a profit on streaming services, which usually entail high content and technology costs but offer lower prices than traditional cable to attract consumers.

Disney said in a filing in January that its stake in Hulu and its ownership of BAMtech, the streaming technology that powers ESPN+, led to a loss of more than $1 billion in the 2018 fiscal year.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Disclosure: Comcast, which owns CNBC parent NBCUniversal, is a co-owner of Hulu.

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