Disappointing quarterly figures: Disney makes significant losses with streaming

Light and shadow Walt Disney: The company's own streaming service Disney is gaining more subscribers than expected.

Disappointing quarterly figures: Disney makes significant losses with streaming

Light and shadow Walt Disney: The company's own streaming service Disney is gaining more subscribers than expected. However, the quarterly results lag behind the expectations of the analysts.

The US media group Walt Disney reported less profit than expected for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. Losses in the streaming business widened, offsetting strong performance from the company's theme parks. Sales also fell short of expectations. However, the group was able to convince with the number of new customers for Disney. During the reporting period, 12.1 million new subscriptions were completed, while analysts had only expected 8.86 million. Disney shares fell 6.7 percent in after-hours trading.

However, the investment costs for the expansion of the streaming business hit the office. The division lost $1.47 billion in the fourth quarter, more than double the same period last year. Since Disney launched three years ago, its streaming division has lost more than $8 billion.

For the quarter ended Oct. 1, Disney reported earnings of $162 million, or 9 cents a share, an adjusted 30 cents a share, versus 37 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. However, analysts had expected adjusted earnings of 56 cents per share. Revenue rose 9 percent year-on-year to $20.2 billion, also missing analyst expectations. On the other hand, things went well in the amusement park division, which posted a new sales record of $7.42 billion.

Disney stock has fallen 35 percent this year, faring lightly compared to its peers. Streaming competitors like Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount Global have all fallen 45 percent or more this year.