Trips to Disney’s US theme parks have increased, but subscriptions to its streaming service have exceeded expectations, according to the company.
Sales at the business’s domestic attractions have risen above pre-pandemic levels, but the company cautioned that Covid will continue to damage sites abroad.
Meanwhile, Disney+ attracted 11.8 million new subscribers in the last three months of 2021, bringing the total number of customers to around 130 million.
This year’s subscription growth is expected to be much higher, according to the corporation.
When the pandemic affected the firm’s legacy theme parks, resorts, and cruise operations, Disney+, the company’s two-year-old streaming service, helped keep the company viable.
Its most recent film, Encanto, was a major success, with one of its songs, We Don’t Talk About Bruno, reaching number one in the UK top 40 for the first time, making it the first original Disney song to do so.
Despite concerns when Netflix indicated that its own growth was slowing, the increase in Disney+ sign-ups implies that certain pandemic-related stay-at-home behaviors may be staying.
By 2024, according to CEO Bob Chapek, the streaming service would have 230 million to 260 million members.
“A performance like this, along with our unequaled collection of assets and platforms, creative talents, and unique place in the culture, gives me tremendous confidence that we will continue to define entertainment for the next 100 years,” he added.
Despite the increase in Disney+ users, management warned that income from movie theaters has yet to return.
In the last three months of 2021, however, revenues at Disney’s US amusement parks set a new high.
Overall, the company’s revenues increased by 34% year over year to $21.8 billion (£16.1 billion), while earnings increased to $1.1 billion.
Despite persisting Covid worries, Sophie Lund-Yates, stock analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, claimed Disney’s parks were “performing far better than predicted.”
“Getting consumers past the gates is one thing,” she said, “but being able to offer them mountains of branded food, toys, and presents is what truly distinguishes Disney as a fantastic company.”
“It’s tough not to be pleased by Disney’s recent subscriber growth in streaming services. The market, on the other hand, is very interested in the streaming sector, and producing the predicted levels of growth will only get more challenging.
“If you didn’t obtain a Disney+ subscription while trying to homeschool during lockdowns, you’re probably never going to get one.”
Separately, Uber, the ride-hailing behemoth, reported a resurgence in taxi reservations as people begin to leave the pandemic’s limits behind them.
Dara Khosrowshahi, the company’s CEO, said the advances demonstrated “exactly how far we’ve gone since the beginning of the pandemic.”
Uber’s total revenue increased by 83 percent to $5.8 billion, with profits of $892 million.
Both firms’ stocks surged in New York after-hours trading.
