Disney Q1FY25 revenue up 5%

In its quarterly earnings for Q1FY25, The Walt Disney Company reported a 5% rise in revenue to $24.7 billion, up from $23.5 billion in the same period last year. However, subscribers to Disney+, the company’s video streaming service stood at 125 million, down 0.7 million from Q1FY24.

Coming to the India business, The Walt Disney Company projects it will contribute $73 million to the entertainment segment operating income in fiscal 2025, compared to $254 million in the prior year; and $9 million to the sports segment operating income, compared to a $636 million loss in the prior year.

Following the joint venture with Reliance Industries over Disney India’s assets, the House of Mouse in its earnings report pegged the equity loss from the India JV of $33 million in Q1 primarily due to the impact of purchase accounting; for the full-year, it expects an equity loss of roughly $300 million driven by purchase accounting.

Direct-to-Consumer advertising revenue declined 2%; excluding the Disney+ Hotstar service in India, Direct-to-Consumer advertising revenue was up 16% vs. Q1FY24 - The Disney+ Hotstar service in India had advertising revenue of approximately $15 million in Q1 fiscal 2025 and $165 million in Q1 fiscal 2024.

“Our results this quarter demonstrate Disney’s creative and financial strength as we advanced the strategic initiatives set in motion over the past two years,” said Robert A. Iger, chief executive officer, The Walt Disney Company.

“In fiscal Q1 we saw outstanding box office performance from our studios, which had the top three movies of 2024; we further improved the profitability of our Entertainment DTC streaming businesses; we took an important step to advance ESPN’s digital strategy by adding an ESPN tile on Disney+, and our Experiences segment demonstrated its enduring appeal as we continue investing strategically across the globe,” he added.