A whole new world… While streaming entertainment powered Disney through the pandemic, real-life entertainment is propelling growth now. Revenue for the first nine months of the year was up 28% as US parks and resorts recovered and is expected to be up 25% for the year (Disney reports tomorrow). With Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, Disney surpassed Netflix’s total subs in August but lowered its 2024 forecast for Disney+ as growth slows. If the streamer hadn’t added 9M subs last quarter, as expected, investors might be bummed despite Disney's strong overall growth.
Insert (more) coins to continue... Gaming behemoths are struggling to beat their own high scores as the pandemic video-game boom slows. In the second quarter, NBA 2K maker Take-Two Interactive and tween fave Roblox fell short of quarterly earnings expectations after reporting fewer new gamers. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s $70B purchase of Activision — which makes Call of Duty — remains stalled in a lengthy regulatory review. Analysts expect earnings to keep falling when Take-Two and Roblox report this week, but revenues are forecast to rise as in-game spending stays strong.