The Walt Disney Company Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings for Fiscal 2023
November 08, 2023 04:05 PM Eastern Standard Time
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) today reported earnings for its fourth quarter and full year ended September 30, 2023.
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”
Financial Results for the Quarter and Full Year:
Revenues for the quarter and year grew 5% and 7% compared to the prior-year quarter and prior year, respectively.
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations for the quarter increased to $0.14 from $0.09 in the prior-year quarter and for the year, decreased to $1.29 from $1.75 in the prior year.
Excluding certain items(1), diluted EPS for the quarter increased to $0.82 from $0.30 in the prior-year quarter and for the year, increased to $3.76 from $3.53 in the prior year.
Key Points:
Disney+ added nearly 7 million core subscribers in the fourth quarter. Key streaming content in the quarter included theatrical titles Elemental, Little Mermaid and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3., original series Ahsoka and the Korean original series Moving.
We continue to expect that our combined streaming businesses will reach profitability in Q4 of FY24, although progress may not look linear from quarter to quarter.
Domestic ESPN revenue and operating income grew year over year in both fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023, demonstrating the value of sports and the power of the ESPN brand.
Experiences operating income increased by over 30% versus the prior-year quarter, with year over year growth across all international sites, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club and Disneyland Resort. At Walt Disney World, we continue to manage against wage inflation and challenging comparisons to the prior year from the 50th anniversary celebration.
We continue to aggressively manage our cost base, and have increased our annualized efficiency target to $7.5 billion, versus $5.5 billion previously.
We expect to grow free cash flow in fiscal 2024 significantly versus fiscal 2023, approaching levels last seen pre-pandemic. This continued robust free cash flow growth, alongside our strong balance sheet, will position us well to address our investment and shareholder goals for the year and going forward.
“Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we’ve made over the past year,” said Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “While we still have work to do, these efforts have allowed us to move beyond this period of fixing and begin building our businesses again. We have a solid foundation of creative excellence and innovation built over the past century, which has only been reinforced by the important restructuring and cost efficiency work we’ve done this year, and we’re on track to achieve roughly $7.5 billion in cost reductions. Combined with our portfolio of valuable businesses, brands and assets – and the way we manage them together – Disney has a strong hand that differentiates us from others in our industry.
“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. We have already made considerable advancements in these four areas and will continue to move forward with a sense of purpose and urgency, and I’m bullish about the opportunities we have before us to create lasting growth and increase shareholder value.”
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