Disney reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday that topped analyst expectations for earnings however missed on income as the corporate’s entertainment enterprise was weighed down by its TV networks and a lackluster theatrical movie slate.

Disney inventory fell roughly 8% in early buying and selling Thursday.

Here’s what Disney reported for the interval ended Sept. 27, in contrast with what Wall Road anticipated, in keeping with LSEG: 

• Earnings per share: $1.11 adjusted vs. $1.05 anticipated
• Income: $22.46 billion vs. $22.75 billion anticipated

Internet earnings for the quarter was $1.44 billion, or 73 cents a share, greater than double the $564 million, or 25 cents per share, that Disney reported in the identical interval a yr earlier. Adjusting for one-time gadgets Disney reported earnings per share of $1.11. 

The corporate’s general income for the quarter was almost $22.5 billion, barely lower than the identical quarter final yr. 

Disney additionally stated it plans to spice up its dividend and double its share buyback plan for fiscal 2026.

“Total we’re leaving the yr with plenty of momentum,” Disney CFO Hugh Johnston advised CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday relating to the corporate’s streaming and experiences companies.

Disney’s TV networks, together with ESPN, have been unavailable for purchasers of Google‘s YouTube TV, a streaming supplier of the pay TV bundle since Oct. 31 due to an ongoing carriage dispute between the 2 corporations.

Johnston advised “Squawk Field” on Thursday that Disney remains to be within the midst of negotiations with YouTube TV, however the firm was ready for what it anticipated to be a “difficult battle,” and Disney is “able to go so long as they need to.”

“We’re attempting actually laborious, as I stated, working tirelessly, to shut this deal, and we’re hopeful that we’ll have the ability to take action on a well timed sufficient foundation to no less than give shoppers the chance to entry our content material over their platform,” CEO Bob Iger stated on Thursday’s name with traders.

Promoting income for the networks, which incorporates broadcast community ABC and pay TV channels like FX, additionally suffered. A part of this was attributable to decrease political promoting, or a $40 million affect in contrast with the identical quarter final yr, Disney stated. The corporate additionally famous that its 2024 three way partnership deal for India Hotstar impacted its linear community outcomes.

Streaming remained the intense spot within the enterprise as shoppers continued to show away from the pay TV bundle. Working earnings for the linear networks dropped 21% to $391 million whereas it rose 39%, to $352 million, for streaming. The upper working earnings for streaming occurred as costs elevated for Disney’s streaming companies. 

Iger on Thursday stated the streaming enterprise reported one other quarter of profitability development. He added full-year working earnings was $1.3 billion, “up $1.2 billion from final yr and $300 million forward of our unique steering.” 

“This can be a important achievement when you think about that simply three years in the past our [streaming] enterprise was operating a $4 billion working loss,” Iger stated.

Disney+ was launched in 2019, and just like its friends, took some years of losses earlier than hitting profitability.

Disney’s streaming development was additionally the results of extra choices for its companies. Earlier this yr its carriage deal with Charter Communications broadened, giving the cable TV supplier’s clients access to ad-supported Hulu. Initially, Constitution’s pay TV clients had been receiving solely Disney+.

Whereas about half of the streaming subscriber improve could possibly be attributed to the Constitution carriage deal, Johnston stated on CNBC that “the opposite half was retail,” with an enormous portion of that coming from worldwide markets. Disney — like its media friends Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix — has seen most of its latest streaming development come from international clients.

The corporate in August additionally launched its ESPN direct-to-consumer app, which mirrors all of the content material of the TV networks, ESPN+ and different additions. The app can be obtainable for Constitution’s pay TV subscribers.

On Thursday’s investor name, Iger stated the brand new ESPN app helped to draw new customers, and stated the speed of these with entry by pay TV subscriptions utilizing the app “has been very, very encouraging.” He additionally stated they have been attracting each extra promoting and new advertisers to the ESPN app.

“I believe it is a very constructive step for the way forward for ESPN as a result of whereas nothing essentially gives future proof ideas or circumstances for a enterprise that’s continually altering, this actually is a step within the course of solidifying ESPN’s future going ahead,” Iger stated Thursday.

ESPN’s earnings are reported within the sports activities section, separate from the remainder of its TV channels. Regardless of the continued pay TV bundle buyer defections, sports activities has remained the final bastion of excessive viewership and large promoting {dollars} on conventional TV.

Disney stopped reporting subscriber metrics for ESPN+, and didn’t give steering on the newly launched app that goes by the identical identify because the TV community. Johnston on CNBC Thursday stated the supply of ESPN by way of streaming has helped to stem buyer losses and has additionally boosted engagement with ESPN.

Nonetheless, Johnston stated Disney’s bundles are a driver of the ESPN app and streaming basically.

“One of many issues I believe we’re most enthusiastic about is totally 80% of these new retail subs on ESPN are literally bundled subs, which once more, ought to contribute to engagement, ought to contribute to retention, and albeit make the service extra useful over time,” Johnston advised “Squawk Field.”

The flagship streaming service Disney+ added 3.8 million paid subscribers, bringing its whole to 131.6 million, whereas Hulu had 64.1 million clients. Disney has been within the strategy of integrating Hulu — which it took full control of earlier this yr — into the Disney+ app. 

This marks the final time the corporate will report subscriber numbers and the typical income per unit, or ARPU, for its streaming companies, which incorporates Disney+ and Hulu.

As an alternative, Disney will comply with within the footsteps of streaming behemoth Netflix, which earlier this yr stopped updating traders on its subscriber rely.

Income for Disney’s sports activities division, specifically ESPN, was up 3% to roughly $4 billion, whereas working earnings was primarily flat at $898 million compared with the identical interval final yr. ESPN’s home working earnings specifically decreased because of prices related to the launch of the app in August, in addition to greater programming prices. 

Disney’s expanded cruise fleet was highlighted on its Thursday name with traders. Two upcoming ships will be a part of Disney’s fleet within the close to future, Iger stated Thursday, with Disney Future setting sail this month and Disney Journey, the primary ship ported in Asia, set to launch in March. 

Johnston added extra concerning the experiences enterprise on Thursday’s name with traders.

“That is not a disclosed merchandise, however clearly it is a very enticing enterprise,” Johnston stated relating to the margins on the cruises section. “We’re able to pricing it at stage. The visitor satisfaction scores are greater than principally the rest within the firm, so the margins in that enterprise, as you’d think about, are fairly enticing.”

Income for Disney’s home parks was up 6% to $5.86 billion, whereas worldwide parks income elevated 10% to $1.74 billion. Disney famous that the working outcomes for Disney’s worldwide parks have been boosted by development at Disneyland Paris.

Johnston stated on Thursday’s name that demand for Disney’s U.S. parks was according to expectations, as the corporate had earlier factored within the opening of Comcast‘s Epic Universe in Florida this yr. Nonetheless, Johnston stated Epic Universe “appeared to be impacting the remainder of the competitors in Florida greater than it is impacting us.”

Disclosure: Comcast is the dad or mum firm of NBCUniversal and CNBC.