Disney returns to profit in 4Q, helped by reopened parks

The Walt Disney Co. returned to a quarterly profit as it once again got a bump from reopened parks.

Disney has closed or limited capacity at its theme parks during the pandemic, weighing on revenue. Disney World in Florida has been open since last summer and California’s Disneyland only came back at the end of April.

Burbank, California-based Disney on Wednesday reported that its net income was $159 million in the three months through Oct. 2, compared with a loss of $710 million in its fiscal fourth quarter a year ago. Earnings per share came to 9 cents, or 37 cents after one-time items. Revenue climbed 26% to $18.53 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet predicted earnings of 52 cents per share, excluding one-time items, on revenue of $18.8 billion. Disney shares dropped 4.6% to $166.29 in aftermarket trading.

The company ended its fiscal year with 118.1 million Disney+ subscribers, up 60% from the previous year but less than analysts' forecast of 126.2 million. It expects 230 to 260 million subscribers by 2024, and some analysts have warned that growth is lagging and Disney could miss that target.

The company has about 179 million total streaming subscribers including Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, and Disney says its streaming business is its top priority as cord-cutting reduces the viewing universe for traditional TV networks. Still, Disney's networks business, which includes ABC, ESPN and FX, brings in a lot of money — $8.41 billion in profit this fiscal year.

The pandemic caused changes to Disney’s film operations, with several big releases steered to Disney+ rather than going to movie theaters because many were closed or had limited capacity due to COVID restrictions. The studio has said recently that it is returning to theatrical releases for the rest of the year's films.