The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)'s shares were up just over 4% in Thursday’s premarket trade after streaming services and theme parks boosted fourth-quarter earnings, despite softer ad sales in the TV business.
Earnings (adjusted EBITDA) came in at 82 cents for the quarter, up substantially year on year from 30 cents a year ago, and beat Wall Street analyst consensus pitched at 70 cents.
Revenue was up 5% from this time last year, rising to $21.24 billion, albeit this was shy of the $21.33 billion penciled in by analysts with ad sales coming in slightly lighter than expected.
The entertainment giant’s bottom-line results were boosted by the profit at ESPN+ as well as higher attendance and ticket prices at its theme parks.
The fall in ad revenue came primarily in Disney’s ABC Network and other owned TV stations, which saw lower political advertising revenue during the quarter.
In streaming, it added seven million new core Disney+ subscribers over the past three months, bringing its total membership to 150.2 million, which topped the estimate of 148.15 million.
Disney also stated that it plans to cut its yearly costs by $7.5 billion, up from $5.5 billion it expected previously.
"As we look forward, there are four key building opportunities that will be central to our success: achieving significant and sustained profitability in our streaming business, building ESPN into the preeminent digital sports platform, improving the output and economics of our film studios, and turbocharging growth in our parks and experiences business," Disney CEO Robert Iger said in a statement.
In New York, Disney shares were up 4%, changing hands at $87.90 in premarket deals.