News Disney’s Q3 FY25 Earnings Results Webcast

[doctornick]

Did anyone else notice that Iger completely ignored a question about Hulu’s future? He was basically implying the Hulu would stop being a standalone service but when directly asked he didn’t answer the question.

I wonder if he did that on purpose or if they just need to stop making him wake up so early for these earnings calls.

I’m under the impression that the Hulu with Live TV will more or less continue or get merged with Fubo. But the Hulu stand alone streaming will essentially be shuttered and merged into D+ in the US (as it essentially is in other places with Star).

 

[peter11435]

Short term sure. Company’s are commonly over/undervalued.

An entire decade though ?

You’re starting to get a good idea of what investors actually think. Both institutional and retail.

Even long term.

Stock price is just one metric to judge a companies performance and it’s by no means the most important. It itself is not a direct reflection of a companies performance. The fact that so many like yourself place exaggerated importance on the value of a stock is one of the biggest problems with modern corporations. Manage your business not your stock price.

The fact that Disneys all time highest valuation came under Chapek, during a period of unprecedented global uncertainty, while multiple of their businesses were completely shut down should show you how meaningless it all really is. What investors both institutional and retail think is not grounded in reality. It’s all a game. The rules are made up and the points don’t matter.

 

[larryz]

Some news about planned reporting changes:

Since we began reporting the number of paid subscribers and average monthly revenue per paid subscriber, our DTC strategy and the DTC marketplace have evolved. Given this evolution, we plan to implement changes to our Entertainment and Sports financial disclosures. Among our planned changes, because we believe quarterly updates on the number of paid subscribers and average monthly revenue per paid subscriber have become less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses, we will no longer report these metrics starting the first quarter of fiscal 2026 for Disney+ and Hulu and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 for ESPN+. We will also consolidate the lines of business in our Entertainment reporting, though will provide information on Entertainment Direct-to-Consumer profitability.

What are they trying to hide?

 

[larryz]

Hugh Johnston on CNBC this morning:

So they missed forecasts by less than the cost of a major attraction... ?

Wall Street has such unrealistic expectations!

 

[Nevermore525]

What are they trying to hide?

Wall Street/Investors no longer really care about total subscribers or ARPU. Wall Street overreacted to subscriber totals 5 years ago, but had to remind themselves all about profit margins.

 

[JD80]

What are they trying to hide?

Following Netflix.

Disney To Stop Providing Quarterly Streaming Subscriber Data, Following Netflix

Disney will stop reporting subscribers numbers with its quarterly reports, calling the count less meaningful to evaluating its business. Netflix has done the same.

deadline.com

 

[larryz]

In recent weeks/months we’ve been hearing how AI will soon be supercharging the tourism industry (variable pricing on steroids married with all the evils of social media tracking).

Knowing how "resilient" Disney tech is, I fully expect their entire IT system to melt down the moment they turn it on.

 

[larryz]

Johnston said on CNBC that WDW "traffic" was "up slightly." So ... a DLR decrease to offset that?

Was he talking about park visitors or counting cars on Western Way?

 

[larryz]

Huh... no mention of Fubo.

I get the "F," "U" and "B," but what does the "O" stand for?

 

[larryz]

The stock market is a scam. Plain and simple.

The only people who consistently make money are the brokers. They get paid coming or going.

 

[Trauma]

Even long term.

Stock price is just one metric to judge a companies performance and it’s by no means the most important. It itself is not a direct reflection of a companies performance. The fact that so many like yourself place exaggerated importance on the value of a stock is one of the biggest problems with modern corporations. Manage your business not your stock price.

The fact that Disneys all time highest valuation came under Chapek, during a period of unprecedented global uncertainty, while multiple of their businesses were completely shut down should show you how meaningless it all really is. What investors both institutional and retail think is not grounded in reality. It’s all a game. The rules are made up and the points don’t matter.

“In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.”


— Warren Buffett, referencing Benjamin Graham


But I’m sure you have a greater understanding of the market than Warren Buffett.

 

[Nevermore525]

Rolling 4Q OI for TWDC:

Entertainment - $7.950B which is the Highest since Q3FY20-Q2FY21 at $8.850B, still off from peak linear at $10.75B from Q415-Q316.

Experiences - $9.776B Highest on record

 

[peter11435]

“In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.”


— Warren Buffett, referencing Benjamin Graham


But I’m sure you have a greater understanding of the market than Warren Buffett.

Your problem is that you’re placing too much importance on “the market” in the first place.

Just like the stock market is not the economy. The stock market does not equal a companies success or failure.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Rolling 4Q OI for TWDC:

Entertainment - $7.950B which is the Highest since Q3FY20-Q2FY21 at $8.850B, still off from peak linear at $10.75B from Q415-Q316.

Experiences - $9.776B Highest on record

Got ChatGPT to interpret your post.

Entertainment OI: $7.950B

• This is the operating income from Disney’s Entertainment division, which includes:
  • Disney+, Hulu, and traditional TV networks (ABC, FX, etc.)
  • Film & TV studios (Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, etc.

• That $7.95B is:
  • The highest since the $8.85B peak during Q3 FY20 – Q2 FY21 (which was pandemic-era, oddly enough — driven by Disney+ hypergrowth and some cost reductions).
  • Still below the pre-streaming era high of $10.75B in operating income during the linear TV golden age (roughly Q4 FY15 to Q3 FY16), back when ESPN and cable bundles ruled.

Experiences OI: $9.776B

• Highest on record = Disney has never made more operating income from its Parks & Experiences division in any 12-month period than it just did.

So the user is pointing out:

1. Parks are at their all-time profitability peak.
   This is monumental. Even with inflation and costs, the absolute dollars they’re pulling from parks is unmatched.
2. Entertainment is rebounding well from both:
   • The streaming investment losses of 2021–2023, and
   • The collapse of linear TV profits as cable bundles shrank.
3. But there’s still room to grow:
   • They haven’t hit the old $10.75B peak from the “linear TV is king” days.
   • But they’re climbing back — and doing it with a now-profitable streaming base.

In simpler terms:

“Disney’s Parks are making more profit than ever. Entertainment is recovering fast and nearing pre-pandemic highs — though not yet back to the golden-era cable peak. And all signs show momentum.”

 

[Trauma]

Your problem is that you’re placing too much importance on “the market” in the first place.

Just like the stock market is not the economy. The stock market does not equal a companies success or failure.

Really?

So if $Dis went to $14 a share tomorrow the company would be just fine ?

 

[Chi84]

Really?

So if $Dis went to $14 a share tomorrow the company would be just fine ?

Why not start a stock market thread if that’s all you can discuss?

 

[peter11435]

Really?

So if $Dis went to $14 a share tomorrow the company would be just fine ?

I’m starting to think you don’t understand the difference between a companies performance and a companies stock performance.

If Disney went to $14 a share tomorrow the company would be extremely undervalued and would quickly be purchased by another company wanting to take advantage of a great price for a great asset. It would have no bearing whatsoever on the companies revenue, operating income, or the value of its assets. What that buyer would do with their new purchase would be dependent on the strength of the company not on the stock price.

 

[DisDude33]

I’m under the impression that the Hulu with Live TV will more or less continue or get merged with Fubo. But the Hulu stand alone streaming will essentially be shuttered and merged into D+ in the US (as it essentially is in other places with Star).

That seems like the plan to me too, I think we all pretty much see that writing on the walls and upon thinking about it I can see why he doesn’t want to come out and say anything about it yet because of a the jobs that will be cut once that happens.

 

[Trauma]

I’m starting to think you don’t understand the difference between a companies performance and a companies stock performance.

If Disney went to $14 a share tomorrow the company would be extremely undervalued and would quickly be purchased by another company wanting to take advantage of a great price for a great asset. It would have no bearing whatsoever on the companies revenue, operating income, or the value of its assets. What that buyer would do with their new purchase would be dependent on the strength of the company not on the stock price.

It’s ironic that you wrote all this to explain to me that I’m the one who doesn’t understand.

But hey I am likely a complete idiot. Let’s refer back to someone who knows a little more than for a second time.



Warren Buffett has consistently emphasized that over the long term, the stock price of a company will reflect its underlying intrinsic value.

This means that in the short term, stock prices are influenced by popularity, emotions, and market noise (the “voting machine”). But over time, the true value of a business—its earnings, cash flow, competitive position, and management quality—will ultimately be “weighed” by the market and reflected in the stock price.

 

[Trauma]

Why not start a stock market thread if that’s all you can discuss?

You understand the purpose of an earnings call is to Communicate financial performance and give future guidance to investors?

Investors buy what again ?