Walt Disney stock slid 8% on Thursday, after slumping movie and TV revenue led to the entertainment company missing Wall Street's quarterly sales target.
The selloff came after Disney reported adjusted earnings of $1.11 a share, as revenue slipped 0.5% from a year ago to $22.46 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.05 a share on revenue of $22.76 billion, according to a FactSet poll.
Operating income for Disney's entertainment segment plunged 35% from a year ago to $691 million, as both TV advertising and box-office sales fell.
That was offset by an uptick in profit for both streaming and theme parks, which analysts believe will be key to Disney's future earnings growth.
Disney stood by its previous guidance, which forecasts double-digit adjusted earnings-per-share growth in fiscal 2026 and 2027, but warned that entertainment operating income would likely take a $400 million hit this quarter due to box-office weakness.
This is breaking news. Read a preview of Disney's earnings below and check back for more analysis soon.
Investors will finally get the chance to see whether the Jimmy Kimmel controversy hit Walt Disney's top or bottom line when the House of Mouse reports its quarterly earnings on Thursday.
Analysts are expecting the entertainment company to report adjusted earnings of $1.05 a share on revenue of $22.76 billion, according to a FactSet poll. A year ago, Disney posted earnings of $1.14 a share on revenue of $22.57 billion.
Disney has plowed money into its Disney+ platform in recent years as it bids to transform itself from an old-fashioned legacy media company into a major streaming player that can compete with the likes of Netflix.
In August, Disney said that it would stop reporting quarterly subscriber numbers and average revenue per user (ARPU) for both Disney+ and Hulu, starting with its fiscal first quarter, which ends in December. This will be the last earnings report, therefore, to disclose these figures. Analysts expect that Disney+ added 2.17 million subscribers over the quarter, with an ARPU of $7.90.
Investors will also be keeping a close eye on theme parks, which have been a worry for the market this year. Consumer spending broadly has been slowing and, in May, rival Comcast opened its Epic Universe theme park in Orlando, Fla., Disney's traditional backyard. Analysts expect Disney to report operating income of $1.92 billion for its experiences division, which includes both theme parks and cruises. A year ago, the segment reported operating income of $1.66 billion.