On May 7, before market open, the Walt Disney Company DIS reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings of $1.45 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.88% and increased 19.8% year over year.
Revenues rose 7% year over year to $23.62 billion and beat the consensus mark by 2.1%. Disney’s segmental operating income was $4.44 billion, up 15.4% year over year. Shares of the media giant rose nearly 11% since reporting second-quarter results.
Disney's Segment Breakdown
Entertainment revenues, which constitute about 45.2% of revenues, increased 9% year over year to $10.68 billion. Entertainment segmental operating income surged 94.9% year over year to $1.7 billion. Costs and expenses increased 4.7% year over year to $20.12 billion in the reported quarter.
Experiences revenues, constituting 37.6% of total revenues, rose 5.9% year over year to $8.89 billion. International revenues decreased 5.3% year over year to $1.44 billion in the reported quarter. Experiences segmental operating income was $2.49 billion, up 9% year over year.
Revenues from Linear Networks declined 12.5% year over year to $2.42 billion, and operating income increased 2.3% to $769 million. Revenues from Direct-to-Consumer increased 8.4% year over year to $6.12 billion.
Content Sales/Licensing and Other revenues grew 54.5% year over year to $2.15 billion. The segment’s operating income were $153 million against an operating loss of $18 million reported in the year-ago quarter.
Meanwhile, Disney’s Sports revenues increased 5% year over year to $4.53 billion. However, the operating income of the segment fell 12% year over year to $687 million.
Subscriber Information
Disney+, as of March 29, 2025, had 126 million paid subscribers compared with 124.6 million as of Dec. 28, 2024. Domestic Disney+ average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased 5% to $7.52, whereas International Disney+ (excluding Disney+ Hotstar) average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased from $6.78 to $7.19 due to increases in prices and subscriber mix shifts.
Hulu SVOD Only average monthly revenue per paid subscriber decreased from $12.52 to $12.36 due to lower advertising revenue, partially offset by increases in pricing.
Guidance
For fiscal 2025, Disney expects adjusted earnings of $5.75 per share, up 16% over fiscal 2024. In Entertainment, operating income growth is expected to be in the double-digit percentage range.
Beyond Earnings
Following its earnings report, Disney unveiled plans for a new theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, its first major venture in the Middle East and seventh resort worldwide.
According to CNBC, while the project is separate from the $60 billion Disney has pledged for theme park investments over the next decade, the company highlighted the region’s strong potential, citing proximity to one-third of the global population and an addressable tourism market of approximately 500 million people.
ETFs in Focus
The earnings outcome could significantly influence ETFs with investments in this major media player. Below, we have put the spotlight on ETFs that have exposure to Disney.
Vanguard Communication Services ETF VOX
Vanguard Communication Services ETF has an exposure of 4.41% in DIS and charges an annual fee of 0.09%.
First Trust S-Network Streaming and Gaming ETF BNGE
FirstTrust S-Network Streaming and Gaming ETF has an exposure of 4.82% in DIS and charges an annual fee of 0.70%.
Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC
Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund has an exposure of 4.59% in DIS and charges an annual fee of 0.08%.
iShares Global Comm Services ETF IXP
iShares Global Comm Services ETF has an exposure of 3.84% in DIS and charges an annual fee of 0.41%.
Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF FCOM
Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF has an exposure of 4.13% in DIS and charges an annual fee of 0.08%.
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The Walt Disney Company (DIS): Free Stock Analysis Report Vanguard Communication Services ETF (VOX): ETF Research Reports Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF (FCOM): ETF Research Reports iShares Global Comm Services ETF (IXP): ETF Research Reports Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLC): ETF Research Reports First Trust S-Network Streaming & Gaming ETF (BNGE): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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