Walt Disney Co. revealed big strides at narrowing losses in its streaming business in its earnings report Wednesday, and touted another lever that will help in Chief Executive Bob Iger’s ongoing efforts to turn the media giant’s fortunes around — cracking down on password sharing. In the face of a growing number of activist investors, Disney
DIS,
-0.15%
reported better-than-expected results in its fiscal first quarter, including narrower-than-expected losses in its streaming business. Also known as its direct-to-consumer unit, streaming losses came in at $138 million, down from losses of $984 million a year ago, while analysts were looking for losses of $419 million, according to FactSet.
Disney’s Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston also surprised analysts with a forecast about margins in that business, while reiterating plans to reach streaming profitability in the fiscal fourth quarter. “[We] have never been more confident about our path to creating a strong and sustainable streaming business with growing subscribers over the long-term and ultimately double-digit operating margins, a business which we fully expect to be a key earnings growth driver for the company,” he said. Taking a page from Netflix Inc.,
NFLX,
+0.62%,
Disney+ and Hulu have already alerted subscribers that they will soon be cracking down on password sharing, and Johnston said that beginning this summer, Disney+ accounts suspected of “improper sharing” will recei …
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DIS,
-0.15%
reported better-than-expected results in its fiscal first quarter, including narrower-than-expected losses in its streaming business. Also known as its direct-to-consumer unit, streaming losses came in at $138 million, down from losses of $984 million a year ago, while analysts were looking for losses of $419 million, according to FactSet.
Disney’s Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston also surprised analysts with a forecast about margins in that business, while reiterating plans to reach streaming profitability in the fiscal fourth quarter. “[We] have never been more confident about our path to creating a strong and sustainable streaming business with growing subscribers over the long-term and ultimately double-digit operating margins, a business which we fully expect to be a key earnings growth driver for the company,” he said. Taking a page from Netflix Inc.,
NFLX,
+0.62%,
Disney+ and Hulu have already alerted subscribers that they will soon be cracking down on password sharing, and Johnston said that beginning this summer, Disney+ accounts suspected of “improper sharing” will recei …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]