Here are some key highlights from The Walt Disney Company’s third quarter 2023 earnings call:
- Restructuring and Transformation: Disney underwent a significant transformation, restructuring the company to place creativity at the center of its business. They made important management changes and efficiency improvements to streamline their operations. They also aggressively reduced costs and are on track to exceed their initial goal of $5.5 billion in savings.
- Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Performance: Disney improved its DTC operating results by $1 billion in just three quarters. For Q3, operating losses improved by approximately $150 million compared to the prior quarter and by approximately $550 million versus the prior year. Disney+ core subscribers grew by nearly 800,000 during the third quarter.
- Earnings Per Share: The fiscal third quarter diluted earnings per share, excluding certain items, were at $1.03, a decrease of $0.06 versus the prior year.
- Parks, Experiences, and Products Performance: The Parks, Experiences, and Products segment saw both revenue and operating income increase by more than 10% versus the prior year. International parks continued its strong growth trend, especially at Shanghai Disney. Domestic Parks and Experiences operating income was up 24% versus pre-pandemic results in fiscal ’19 but declined 13% versus the prior year.
- Galactic Starcruiser: There was an accelerated depreciation charge related to the closure of the Galactic Starcruiser, impacting the results.