Disney will stop reporting quarterly subscriber numbers staring with its Q1 report for fiscal year 2026 later this year, executives said while announcing Q3 numbers on Wednesday.
The statement in an executive commentary from CEO Bob Iger and Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston follows a similar move by Netflix that came into effect at the start of the year.
“Since we began reporting the number of paid subscribers and ARPU [average revenue per user], our DTC [direct-to-consumer] strategy and the operating environment have evolved,” Iger and Johnston said.
“[W]e believe quarterly updates on the number of paid subscribers and ARPU have become less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses […] While we will no longer disclose subscribers and ARPU, we will provide information on Entertainment Direct-to-Consumer profitability.”
Disney’s streaming business was a highlight of the Q3 earnings call. Revenue for the period ending June 28 climbed 6% over the year-ago quarter to $6.2bn and the company swung to a $346m profit compared to a $19m loss one year ago.
Global Disney+ subscribers increased 1% or by 1.8m over Q2 to $127.8m. Factoring in Hulu, members gained 2.6m over Q2 to reach 183m.
Executives said that the $1bn-plus theatrical success of the live-action Lilo & Stitch drove viewership of the 2002 original animated film and “related content” on Disney+ to more than 640m hours streamed globally.
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