Disney's Q1 revenue jumps 5% to $24.7 billion, box office success drives growth
Last year, Star India and Reliance Industries formed a joint venture, combining the Star-branded and other general entertainment, sports television channels, direct-to-consumer Disney+Hotstar services in India, and certain media businesses by RIL
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The Walt Disney Company has announced its first-quarter earnings for fiscal 2025. The company's revenue increased 5 percent to $24.7 billion for the quarter ended on 28 December 2024 from $23.5 billion in Q1 fiscal 2024.
The company attributed the box office success of its films to the increased revenue. "Our theatrical business had an outstanding run at the global box office in 2024..led by Inside Out 2, Deadpool and Wolverine and Moana 2".
Disney's Moana 2 crossed $1 billion globally at the box office.
The segment's operating income increased $0.8 billion to $1.7 billion. Direct-to-consumer operating income increased $431 million to $293 million. However, the D2C advertising revenue declined 2 percent; excluding the Disney+ Hotstar service in India, advertising revenue was up 16 percent in Q1 fiscal 2025 compared to Q1 fiscal 2024.
The company reported that the operating income of the sports segment surged from $350 million to $247 million.
In December, Walt Disney Company introduced ESPN tile on Disney+. The company said it will be adding a new live Sports studio show that will be exclusive to Disney+ later this year, including a daily SportsCenter show called SC+.
According to Walt Disney Company's exchange filing, India's business will contribute $73 million to the entertainment segment operating income in fiscal 2025 compared to $254 million in the prior year.
“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. Overall, this quarter proved to be a strong start to the fiscal year, and we remain confident in our strategy for continued growth," Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company said.
