Disney is up after holding an investor mtg yesterday after the close. The meeting was focused on their streaming services and they released updated long-term targets that were well ahead of expectations. Some key takeaways…
- As of Dec 2, Disney+ now has 87m subs (up from 74m at the end of the quarter they just reported) after only 1 year. Their original guidance when Disney+ was announced was for 60-90m subs by 2024.
- They now expect to achieve 230-260m Disney+ subs by 2024. This is well ahead of investor expectations that were closer to 165m. Netflix currently has <200m subs.
- They plan to increase prices in the US and Europe by $1.
- They’re increasing content production plans. Now expect over 100 original titles per year – including 10 Star Wars series, 10 Marvel series, 15 Pixar series and 15 Pixar feature films. This will result in higher content costs.
- Maintained their outlook for Disney+ to achieve profitability in F2024 given price increase and higher content costs.
- Released details on Star outside of the US.
- They plan to continue releasing franchise films (e.g. Marvel) into theaters.
- They won’t move ESPN away from linear distribution as quickly as their other content.
Sarah Kanwal
Equity Analyst, Director
Direct: 617.226.0022
Fax: 617.523.8118
Crestwood Advisors
One Liberty Square, Suite 500
Boston, MA 02109
$DIS.US
[tag DIS]
[category equity research]