Disney reports earnings for quarter ended December 30, 2023

BURBANK, Calif. — The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) today reported earnings for its first quarter ended December 30, 2023.

Entertainment – Direct-to-Consumer

• Hulu subscribers increased by 1.2 million from the prior quarter. Disney+ Core subscribers decreased sequentially by 1.3 million, in line with prior guidance and reflecting a substantial price increase in the quarter as well as the end of the global summer promotion. Disney+ Core ARPU increased sequentially by $0.14 versus the fourth quarter.
• We expect Disney+ Core subscriber net additions of between 5.5 and 6 million and ongoing positive momentum in ARPU in the second quarter.

In addition to revenue, costs and operating income, management uses the following key metrics to analyze trends and evaluate the overall performance of our Disney+ and Hulu direct-to-consumer (DTC) product offerings, and we believe these metrics are useful to investors in analyzing the business. The following tables and related discussion are on a sequential quarter basis.

Paid subscribers (in millions) as of:

                                             December 30,  September 30,
                                                     2023           2023  Change
                                            -------------  -------------  ------
Disney+
 Domestic (U.S. and Canada)                          46.1           46.5    (1)%
 International (excluding Disney+ Hotstar)           65.2           66.1    (1)%
  Disney+ Core                                      111.3          112.6    (1)%

 Disney+ Hotstar                                     38.3           37.6      2%

Hulu
 SVOD Only                                           45.1           43.9      3%
 Live TV + SVOD                                       4.6            4.6      —%
  Total Hulu                                         49.7           48.5      2%

Average Monthly Revenue Per Paid Subscriber for the quarter ended:

                                             December 30,  September 30,
                                                     2023           2023  Change
                                            -------------  -------------  ------
Disney+
 Domestic (U.S. and Canada)                         $8.15          $7.50      9%
 International (excluding Disney+ Hotstar)           5.91           6.10    (3)%
  Disney+ Core                                       6.84           6.70      2%

 Disney+ Hotstar                                     1.28           0.70     83%
 
Hulu
 SVOD Only                                          12.29           12.11     1%
 Live TV + SVOD                                     93.61           90.08     4%

Domestic Disney+ average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased from $7.50 to $8.15 due to increases in retail pricing, partially offset by a higher mix of subscribers to promotional offerings.

International Disney+ (excluding Disney+ Hotstar) average monthly revenue per paid subscriber decreased from $6.10 to $5.91 due to a higher mix of subscribers to promotional offerings.

Disney+ Hotstar average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased from $0.70 to $1.28 due to higher advertising revenue and increases in retail pricing, partially offset by a higher mix of subscribers from lower-priced markets.

Hulu SVOD Only average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased from $12.11 to $12.29 due to increases in retail pricing, partially offset by lower per-subscriber advertising revenue and a higher mix of subscribers to promotional offerings.

Hulu Live TV + SVOD average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased from $90.08 to $93.61 due to increases in retail pricing.

Sports – ESPN+

In addition to revenue, costs and operating income, management uses the following key metrics to analyze trends and evaluate the overall performance of our ESPN+ DTC product offering, and we believe these metrics are useful to investors in analyzing the business. The following table and related discussion are on a sequential quarter basis.

                                     December 30,  September 30,
                                             2023           2023  Change
                                    -------------  -------------  ------
Paid subscribers at: (in millions)           25.2           26.0    (3)%
Average Monthly Revenue Per Paid
 for the quarter ended:                     $6.09          $5.34     14%

The increase in ESPN+ average monthly revenue per paid subscriber was due to increases in retail pricing and higher advertising revenue.