Disney Stock Rises On Earnings, Dow Giant Lifts Cost-Cutting Goal To $7.5 Billion; Rival Dives On Results

Disney Stock Rises On Earnings, Dow Giant Lifts Cost-Cutting Goal To $7.5 Billion; Rival Dives On Results

Disney Stock Rises On Strong Earnings, Cost-Cutting Goal Lifted To $7.5 Billion; Rival Dives On Results

Walt Disney Company's stock price rose on Thursday after the company reported strong earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Disney's earnings per share of 82 cents beat analyst expectations of 71 cents. Revenue increased 5% to $21.24 billion.

Disney's streaming business, Disney+, continued to grow, adding nearly seven million subscribers in the quarter to reach a total of 150.2 million. The company also said it expects its combined streaming business to reach profitability in the fourth quarter.

Disney's cost-cutting measures are also paying off. The company said it expects to save $7.5 billion in costs by the end of fiscal 2024, up from its previous target of $6 billion.

The strong earnings and cost-cutting measures helped Disney's stock price rise by more than 5% on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a rival streaming service, Warner Bros. Discovery, reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The company's earnings per share of 17 cents missed analyst expectations of 9 cents. Revenue increased 1.6% to $9.98 billion.

Warner Bros. Discovery's direct-to-consumer subscribers declined by 700,000 in the quarter to 95.1 million. The company said that the decline was due to a number of factors, including the ongoing war in Ukraine and the rollout of new streaming services.

The weak earnings and subscriber decline sent Warner Bros. Discovery's stock price down by more than 10% on Thursday.

The results from Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery show that the streaming wars are still heating up. Disney is clearly the leader in the race, but Warner Bros. Discovery is still trying to catch up.

Disney's strong earnings and cost-cutting measures suggest that the company is well-positioned to continue to grow its streaming business. Warner Bros. Discovery needs to find ways to reverse its subscriber decline if it wants to compete with Disney.