Disney (DIS) posted quarterly results that missed Wall Street's expectations as the media giant saw a more marked-than-expected slowdown in Disney+ streaming subscribers, with consumer mobility picking up and virus-related disruptions weighing on show production.
Here were the main metrics Disney posted in its fiscal fourth-quarter report, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:
Revenue: $18.53 billion vs. $18.78 billion expected, $14.71 billion Y/Y
Adjusted earnings per share: 37 cents vs. 49 cents expected, loss of 20 cents Y/Y
Disney+ subscribers: 118.1 million vs. 119.6 million expected
The Burbank, Calif.-based company's flagship Disney+ streaming platform has become a key growth driver for the company overall, with the two-year-old platform capitalizing on a consumer shift to streaming. However, the platform has been adding users at a decelerating clip compared to earlier on during the pandemic, when stay-at-home behavior helped boost sign-ups both at Disney+ and at rivals like Netflix (NFLX).
Heading into results, executives warned that Disney was still seeing some lingering virus-related disruptions for its streaming business. CEO Bob Chapek said during Goldman Sachs' Communacopia Conference in September that investors should expect to see the company bring on just "low single-digit millions of subscribers versus Q3," or when the company had added more than 12 million net new users. At the time, Chapek noted that COVID-induced production delays were inhibiting new content from coming to the service globally, which was in turn affecting subscriber growth.
Disney+ subscribers of 118.1 million for fiscal fourth quarter compared to the third quarter's 116.0 million.
But vaccinations and a rise in consumer mobility have strongly aided other parts of Disney's sprawling entertainment empire. Disney's theme parks have seen a pick-up in attendance as 2021 progressed, aided by pent-up consumer demand for live events.
The company's parks, experiences and products segment produced operating income for the first time since the pandemic began in the fiscal third quarter, and this segment was expected to remain profitable in the third quarter. All of Disney's global theme parks were open in the fiscal fourth quarter, and several of Disney's cruise ships resumed sailing.
Impacts from a multi-day closure at Shanghai Disneyland in early November — which saw tens of thousands of visitors get locked into the park for COVID testing after one customer tested positive for the virus — were not captured in fourth-quarter results.
Shares of Disney have fallen 3.5% for the year-to-date, underperforming against the S&P 500's more than 23% gain over that period.
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Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter
