During today’s Walt Disney Company’s fourth quarter 2023 and fiscal year 2023 earnings report, CEO Bob Iger announced the company’s overall outlook from the previous quarter and year-over-year updates. shared financial benefits.
The Walt Disney Company Fourth Quarter 2023 and Fiscal Year 2023 Update
The Walt Disney Company’s fourth quarter 2023 and fiscal year 2023 earnings reports show that compared to the same period last year, revenue for the quarter and year increased 5% and 7%, respectively. ABC said increased attendance at Shanghai Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland offset the decline in ABC’s advertising revenue. Reuters.
Looking at year-over-year results, Q4 2024 ended with revenue of $21.2 billion, an increase of $1 billion over 2022. For the full year, revenue for fiscal 2023 was $88.9 billion, an increase of $6.2 billion compared to 2022.
All three of Disney’s business segments increased operating income in the fourth quarter. The company expects the reorganization will result in increased efficiency and significant operating cost savings of $7.5 billion by the end of fiscal 2024. This is $2 billion more than the original goal of $5.5 billion.
Spending on produced and licensed content, including sports rights, was $27.2 billion in fiscal year 2023, down nearly $3 billion from the prior year. Content spending is expected to decline by $2 billion in fiscal year 2024, to about $25 billion.
Disney expects capital investment in fiscal 2023 to total $5 billion, about the same amount as last year. For fiscal year 2024, spending is expected to total $6 billion due to increased spending on Disney’s Experiences segment, which includes Disney Parks. Disney expects 2024 Experience capital spending to be similar to 2019, including investments at Disney Cruise Line as three new ships enter service in 2025 and 2026. It is.
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations for the quarter increased to $0.14 from $0.09 in the prior-year period and decreased to $1.29 from $1.75 in the prior-year period. Excluding certain items, diluted EPS for the quarter increased to $0.82 from $0.30 in the prior-year period and for the full year, and $3.76 from $3.53 in the prior-year period.
Experience operating income increased more than 30% compared to the same period last year, with year-over-year growth across all international locations, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club and Disneyland Resort. At Walt Disney World, Disney continues to deal with wage inflation and difficult year-over-year comparisons since its 50th anniversary celebration.
Currently, Disney+ has 112 million core subscribers at the end of fiscal 2023, growing by nearly 7 million in Q4 2023. Disney believes this is thanks to the streaming release of the live-action versions of “Elemental” and “The Little Mermaid.” The movie “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”, the original series “Ahsoka”, the Korean original series “Moving”.
Ad-supported Disney+ subscribers grew by approximately 2 million in Q4 2023. More than 50% of his new subscribers in the US chose the ad-supported tier over other tiers, and he spent 34% more time watching the service overall.
Domestic ESPN’s revenue and operating profit increased in 2022 and 2023. This year also saw the network record its highest overall viewership in four years and its highest viewership in the 18-24 demographic over the same period.
Disney’s next goal is to turn streaming into a profitable growth business, and Disney estimates its streaming service will reach profitability in the fourth quarter of 2024, but progress is slowing “quarterly.” “It may not be visible in a straight line.” Iger also predicts that Disney+’s crackdown on account sharing won’t have a major impact until 2025.
Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we have made over the past year. There is still work to do, but these efforts have enabled us to get through this period of correction and start building our business again. We have a strong foundation of outstanding creativity and innovation built over the past century, further strengthened by the significant restructuring and cost efficiency efforts we took this year, resulting in approximately $7.5 billion in cost savings. is planned to be achieved. . Combined with our portfolio of valuable businesses, brands and assets, and the way we manage them together, Disney has a powerful ability to differentiate itself from other companies in the industry.
Looking ahead, there are four key building opportunities that are central to our success. Our goal is to achieve significant and sustainable profitability in our streaming business, build ESPN into a premier digital sports platform, improve productivity and economics for movie studios, and turbocharge our streaming business. . Growth of parks and experiences business. We have already made significant progress in these four areas, and we continue to move forward with purpose and speed. I am bullish on the opportunities before us to generate sustainable growth and enhance shareholder value.
Disney CEO Bob Iger
Disney expects free cash flow to increase significantly in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023, and hopes to approach levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic.
Please see below for additional reports from today’s earnings announcement.
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