Today, The Walt Disney Company reported earnings for its second quarter ended March 30, 2024. The financial results and key points of the earnings call are detailed below, straight from Disney. Financial details on increases in both revenue and operating income for the domestic theme parks are shown at the bottom.
Financial Results for the Quarter:
- Revenues for the quarter increased to $22.1 billion from $21.8 billion in the prior-year quarter.
- Diluted earnings per share (EPS) was a loss of $0.01 for the current quarter compared to income of
$0.69 in the prior-year quarter. Diluted EPS decreased to a nominal loss due to goodwill impairments
in the quarter, partially offset by higher operating income at Entertainment and Experiences. - Excluding certain items(1), diluted EPS for the quarter increased to $1.21 from $0.93 in the prior-year quarter.
Key Points:
- In the second fiscal quarter of 2024, we achieved strong double digit percentage growth in adjusted EPS(1), and met or exceeded our financial guidance for the quarter.
- As a result of outperformance in the second quarter, our new full year adjusted EPS(1) growth target is now 25%.
- We remain on track to generate approximately $14 billion of cash provided by operations and over $8 billion of free cash flow(1) this fiscal year.
- We repurchased $1 billion worth of shares in the second quarter and look forward to continuing to return capital to shareholders.
- The Entertainment Direct-to-Consumer business was profitable in the second quarter. While we are expecting softer Entertainment DTC results in Q3 to be driven by Disney+ Hotstar, we continue to expect our combined streaming businesses to be profitable in the fourth quarter, and to be a meaningful future growth driver for the company, with further improvements in profitability in fiscal 2025.
- Disney+ Core subscribers increased by more than 6 million in the second quarter, and Disney+ Core ARPU increased sequentially by 44 cents.
- Sports operating income declined slightly versus the prior year, reflecting the timing impact of College Football Playoff games at ESPN, offset by improved results at Star India.
- The Experiences business was also a growth driver in the second quarter, with revenue growth of 10%, segment operating income growth of 12%, and margin expansion of 60 basis points versus the prior year. Although the third quarter’s segment operating income is expected to come in roughly comparable to the prior year, we continue to expect robust operating income growth at Experiences for the full year.
Domestic Parks and Experiences
The increase in operating income at our domestic parks and experiences was due to higher results at Walt Disney World Resort and Disney Cruise Line, partially offset by lower results at Disneyland Resort.
At Walt Disney World Resort, higher results in the current quarter compared to the prior-year
quarter were due to:
- Increased guest spending attributable to higher average ticket prices
- Higher costs due to inflation, partially offset by lower depreciation and cost saving initiatives
Growth at Disney Cruise Line was due to an increase in average ticket prices, partially offset by
higher costs.
The decrease in operating results at Disneyland Resort was due to:
- Higher costs driven by inflation
- An increase in guest spending attributable to higher average ticket prices and daily hotel room
rates - Higher volumes due to attendance growth, partially offset by lower occupied room nights
Senior Editor for the DIS and DCL Fan | Disney Vacation Club Member | Thrilled to have been a '13/'14 Disney Parks Moms Panelist (now planDisney) | Lover of all things Disney; the Magic of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disney Cruise Line | ºoº
