EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is intended for informational purposes only regarding the Disney earnings call for Q4 2024. It is not intended as financial advice.
This morning, Bob Iger addressed the Disney investors in the company’s Q4 2024 earnings call.
Disney admitted in its Q4 earnings report prior to the start of the call that two years ago it was forced to inject creativity back into the company.
The report touted the success of Deadpool and Wolverine along with Inside Out 2. When hyping the 2025 movie slate, Rachel Zegler’s Snow White live action remake was left out.
Industry analyst and scooper WDW Pro pointed out on Valiant Renegade’s livestream that there’s some good to be found in Disney’s earnings report.
Notably, Hulu and Disney Cruise Line are doing very well, picking up some of the slack from the struggling parks division. However, he was quick to point out the danger on the horizon for Disney in the form of its biggest theme park competitor.
“This is a theme park company that has demand moderation for their theme parks,” Pro said, “ahead of the impetus for a whole lot of moderation coming their way, that being Epic Universe.”
Cinderella’s Castle in Walt Disney World via 4K WDW YouTube
Bob Iger and Disney CFO Hugh Johnston were on hand for the call.
Iger started off reflecting on the lasr two years since his return to the company. He expressed optimism that the company’s current results will lead to prolonged growth.
“On the creative front our renewed strength is a result of the expansive work we began two years ago to restore creativity to the center of the company,” Iger said, reiterating what was said in the earnings report.
(L-R): Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE. Photo by Jay Maidment. ©.
Once more, when speaking on the 2025 film slate, Iger left Snow White off the list. This omission comes just days after the film’s star, Rachel Zegler went on a social media rant where she said that she hoped Donald Trump and his voters “never know a moment of peace.”
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Rachel Zegler as Snow White in Snow White (2025), Walt Disney Studios
Iger omitted Snow White from the earnings call in Q3 as well. That makes this the second quarter in a row with no mention of the big budget Zegler-centric film.
He attempted to praise the company’s streaming success again, while stating that an ESPN tab is coming soon to Disney+.
“This integrated streaming experience moves us one step closer to bringing a full sports offering to Disney+ in the US,” Iger said.
Mickey and Minnie ride in on their float for the ABC Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade, Credit: La Reina Creole
After an extremely brief report, Iger opened the call up to questions from investors. He did not take questions on the last annual earnings call.
The first question came from Ben Swinburne of Morgan Stanley.
He asked about ESPN and how that’s going to grow Disney’s streaming presence. Iger then noted that sports betting will become fully integrated into the ESPN app. It’s unclear whether this gambling feature would also make it to Disney+.
A question then came in about how the ideological approach of the company will change among other business matters.
HULU ON DISNEY+ CELEBRATION – Some of the biggest stars across The Walt Disney Company celebrate the official launch of Hulu on Disney+ at an exclusive cocktail reception hosted by Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, along with special guest Bob Iger, on Friday evening in Los Angeles. (Disney/Greg Williams)
DANA WALDEN (CO-CHAIRMAN, DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY), ROBERT A. IGER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY), ALAN BERGMAN (CO-CHAIRMAN, DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY)
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However, Iger ignored the ideological approach question and shifted focus elsewhere.
Speaking on the acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Bob spoke about the need for more content and distribution as a factor that justified the massive cost of the purchase.
He mentioned the 60 Emmy awards the company received and noted that so much of it came from the Fox acquisition. He also specifically called out Avatar and Hulu as justification for the $70 billion investment in Fox.
Essentially Iger admitted that the Disney company didn’t make most of its current successful properties. He also stated that the company sees no need for further acquisitions at this time.
Key art for the Dark Universe at Epic Universe
An investor eventually asked Bob about the impact of Universal Orlando’s upcoming Epic Universe on Disney Parks. The new park opens on May 22, 2025 and represents a huge threat to Disney’s tourism marketshare in the Orlando area.
Johnston fielded that question, noting that Walt Disney World bookings for next summer are rising and that Disney often sees an increase when competitors open large attractions.
Iger, however, remained silent on Epic Universe.
Johnston answered a question about where growth would come from (new park customers or park increases). He said that it would be a combination of the two but would mostly come from price increases.
Bob Iger via New York Times Events YouTube
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Bob mentioned AVOD (Advertising-Based Video On Demand) subscriptions on streaming platforms. He said that 37% of subs in the US and 30% of subscribers globally are on an AVOD plan.
A moment later Bob was caught on a hot mic stating that he wasn’t supposed to disclose those numbers.
A question came up about Disney’s massive losses in India where the company lost $12 billion. Johnston deflected the question and said that Disney anticipated a loss and directed the question to the investor relations team.
Epcot Spaceship Earth Walt Disney World Orlando 2010. Photo Credit: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
When the subject of parks attendance came up, Johnston said that the company expected a hit due to the Paris Olympics. He noted that whenever there’s an Olympics in a city where they have a park, they see a hit in attendance.
He did not go into specifics on why this might be.
The call then abruptly ended.
“Disney’s growth seems largely due to price increases by Disney,” YouTube analyst Valiant Renegade said on his stream immediately following the call. “They’re not creating new customers, they’re just jacking up the pricing on existing customers. To which you have to ask yourself as we have many times in the past, what pray tell is the elasticity for something like Disney+?”
What did you think of the information offered in this Disney earnings call? How do you feel about Iger’s responses? Sound off and let us know!
